"Cloverfield" is a Fresh Spin on the Monster/Disaster Genre

One of the most anticipated movies of 2008 was the little known about movie called "Cloverfield." This film is about a monster attack on New York City, and follows a few main characters as they try to escape the mayhem surrounding them. This was all that was revealed of the secretive project, as producer J.J. Abrams wanted the movie's plot and crucial scenes to only be shown to the viewer once they were in the theater. The movie was also hyped up on the Internet, which in the end has helped the film to gross over 41,000,000 million dollars in its opening weekend, which is a record for a January release. "Cloverfield" has not been over hyped, though, as it is an excellent and fresh piece of filmmaking that benefits from a fast pace, interesting camera work, and a believable cast.

The film starts out with text saying that the video about to be shown is property of the Department of Defense. Then, the audience meets Robert Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David), a young man who is leaving New York in order to go to Japan to be the vice president of a company there. His close friends decide to throw him a surprise going away party. Those friends include Rob's brother Jason (Mike Vogel), Jason's girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas), and Rob's best friend Hud Platt (T.J. Miller). Hud also has the distinction of video taping the party to document good byes from all the attendees to Rob. He at one point even ends up trying to hit on an attractive woman named Marlena (Lizzy Caplan). However, at the party, Rob's ex girlfriend Beth (Odette Yustman) shows up with a new boyfriend, making Rob miserable. After an argument about their former relationship, she leaves and Rob becomes depressed. However, as the friends are on the roof, an explosion in downtown New York City sends debris flying all over the city, and sends the group into the street trying to figure out what has happened. Some sort of gigantic monster in the center of the city is rampaging, and the film then goes from a light-hearted party scene to a desperate race for survival. Along the way, Rob finds out that Beth is hurt, and he has to decide what he should do for his former love. The plot from there has many interesting twists and turns, as the group of friends tries to survive in the terrorized and panicked New York City.

What is the very gimmick that "Cloverfield" uses to separate itself from all other monster movies is that the

• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about Movie reviews: Cloverfield?
We want to hear your view. Write now!