A group of twenty-something Manhattanites is giving their friend a going away party. They’re rudely interrupted by a creature of unknown origin that lays waste to the city that never sleeps (and may never sleep again if it ever awakens). When they get a call from a trapped friend some of them go into the danger zone to save her.
On April 27th, Rob (Michael Stahl-David) is videotaping his friend Beth (Odette Yustman) after they’ve spend the night together. Rob asks her if she’s ever been to Coney Island and he plans to take her to the amusement park. We cut to May 22 and Rob has gotten a job in Japan and his brother Jason’s (Mike Vogel) girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas) is giving him a going away party.
Lily gives Rob’s best friend Hud (T.J. Miller) a videocamera to go around and get farewells and testimonials from everyone at the party. Beth shows up at the party with another date at the party and we know that the intervening time has caused she and Rob to drift apart. He’s excited to see her at the party but that she’s with another man causes him to lash out at her a bit.
She leaves with her date and Rob wants to get away from the party so he and some pals go out onto the fire escape. Moments later loud explosions rock downtown Manhattan and a strange creature is seen toppling the skyscrapers and wreaking havoc to the Big Apple.
Several of the friends are trying to escape the city by crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on foot, but the beast destroys the bridge and one of them doesn’t make it. On the bridge, before the attack, Rob had gotten a cellphone call from Beth saying that she’s trapped in her collapsed apartment building and Rob and the three other survivors set out across the smoldering ruins of Manhattan to try and save Beth. They also face the high possibility that they’ll also run into the monster.
On a promotional tour for Mission Impossible III, producer J.J. Abrams and his son went into a Japanese toy store. He was amazed that there were still toys on the shelf promoting Godzilla. The giant lizard had so become a part of Japanese culture that he was still popular.
Abrams wanted to create such a cinematic beast that American audiences would embrace and so Cloverfield was born. He got folks interested in the film with a rather cryptic trailer that left audiences and industry people wondering what the film was about. It also featured a rather prominent New York landmark destroyed rather spectacularly.
The film is treated as if it was a discovered artifact in the aftermath of the melee. The DVD even has artwork that appears to be all scuffed up. The story of the attack is told entirely from the point of view of the camcorder that Hud is using the make the testimonials at the party.
Since he didn’t bother to change the tape we also have bits of Rob and Beth’s trip to Coney Island bleeding through into the narrative. This way of doing the film may drive some people nuts, not to mention causing nausea or vertigo.
It didn’t bother me too much but it also means that we really don’t get a real good look at many of the scenes since the camera rarely stays in one place for too long.
The creature is much of a mystery and we don’t find out anything about its origin. In these days of over-explanation I found this a welcome touch. I also imagine this kept the door open for a sequel for that same reason - Abrams isn’t a dunce.
The bad thing about the film is that they gave the camera to the most annoying character so we have to listen to some of his inanities all throughout the film. The film tries to end on an upbeat note, but it is questionable who makes it – which makes the happy ending all the more poignant.
Cloverfield is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary by director Matt Reeves. The 28-minute “Document 01.18.08” is a making of feature. The 22-minute “Cloverfield Visual Effects” delves into the computer effects for the film.
The 5-minute “I Saw It! It’s Alive! It’s Huge!” looks at how they designed the monster. The 4 minute “Clover Fun” is a gag reel. Next are 3 minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary by Reeves.
There are also 4 minutes of alternate endings, again with optional commentary by Reeves. One has a different coda and the other creates some mystery that the director thought unnecessary. Finally there are previews for other Paramount DVDs, but no Cloverfield trailers, and a text link promoting www.cloverfieldfiles.com .
Only time will tell if Abrams has created the American Godzilla. What I do know is that he’s created a grand monster movie for the Youtube generation. It’s quite a fun ride, but be warned some might actually feel dizzy with all the shaky camera moves.
Cloverfield is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a June 9th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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