There's been a lot of talk and speculation about this movie since last July, when a trailer that seemed to center around a going-away party but then shifted to some type of disaster, complete with a shot of the ripped-off head of the Statue of Liberty crashing down a street, debuted with the release of Transformers. There was no title, only the release date of “1/18/08", leaving filmgoers to speculate what this film was and what it was about.
In the following months, producer J.J. Abrams released a “working title”, “Cloverfield”, and hints that the movie revolved around a giant monster attack on New York. For the whole time until the release date, Abrams was able to keep the project wrapped in secrecy, a surprise in today's technology-heavy age where even a cell phone can access the Internet, causing even more hype to build around this picture that it would have to live up to upon release.
I can tell you this much: it does. And then some.
Cloverfield (yes, it turns out that is the actual title) is a movie that's hard to describe without giving too much away. The whole film is shot from the perspective of a video camcorder, giving it that same feel as The Blair Witch Project. It even starts out the same way, with a small disclaimer about the footage being recovered after the incident. This also works in the movie's favor, making the events that take place seem all the more down-to-earth. Not to mention more intense, seeing there's obviously no musical score to accompany the film, which actually adds to the tension, especially in scenes where it's dark. And since the main characters are all average people like you or me, there's never real scientific or military discussions of what the creature attacking the city is or where it came from. It makes it very similar to War of the Worlds, especially the more recent version that featured Tom Cruise, and makes you wonder what that film would've been like shot in a similar fashion.
Much of the plot centers around both an attempt by the main characters (Rob, the focus of the party; his brother, Jason; Jason's girlfriend Lily; Hud, the guy working the camera; and Marlena, the girl Hud's interested in) to escape the city and to try and get to Beth, the girl Rob loves but keeps pushing away, who is trapped in her apartment building. These people aren't amateur scientists who happen to have their little hobbies that could help take down the creature, but regular people you might meet on the street who only want to get out in one piece. The subplot of the rescue/escape adds to the drama immensely, as well as makes the characters all the more human, as they argue back and forth about whether or not to go and how to get there. You can't help but wonder what you would do in a similar situation: think of yourself or try to help others, especially someone you care about.
And then there's the monster itself. At first there are only glimpses of it as it rampages through the city, building up the tension to its final reveal. Again, I can't say too much without giving too much away. But I can say that the way the creature is designed, you'd never think this was some guy in a rubber suit, but some inhuman thing you know is going to change life as you know it. And the fact that Rob is leaving for Japan at the start of the movie just seems to add to the irony of the whole situation, though thankfully no one speaks of it.
I will admit that this film will probably be a bit unsettling to some, given recent events and our post-9/11 situation. Having the setting be in New York City, where that particular event took place, doesn't especially help things. Particularly when it's the mauling of the Statue of Liberty that kicks things off. But thankfully, the fact that it's a monster attack rather than a terrorist one might make things a little more easier, since the chances of that happening are rather slim.
Simply put, this is an awesome movie. Monster attack aside, it has a very real feel to it, making you wonder what might happen in such a situation. This is definitely going to be one of the best movies of the year.
