Cloverfield

I read a few reviews before i decided to write this post and i have to say that the majority of them are all bad which came as a huge shock to me because i felt that the film was original and innovative and extremely well done. one of the most brutal reviews i read was one from the New York times. It slated the film for having bland characters, an unrealistic plot and the most annoyingly critisism was that a lot of the scenes mimicd footage from the 911 tragedy. all these points made me laugh and i felt the need to write this.
firstly, the characters are supposed to be bland. the idea is that they are supposed to resemble ordinary, down to earth people. Im not sure if this is true but i heard that the Director hired almost completely unknown actors just so that we didn't associate them with other films and think of them as actors which to me seems like a genius idea and it worked extremely well. the characters all seem like normal people who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and you can tell that the dialogue was well written, giving an extremely intense sense of horror. i admit that if i was in that situation that i wouldnt lug around a big video camera but if you think about it, it is probably a good idea because it would be an extremely valuable and important piece of footage. the development of the relationship between the characters and the audience grows at an increadible rate and i know people who said they felt truly sorry for all the characters and a few even cried at the end which is what cinema is all about.

secondly, the plot is unrealistic because it isn't true! how many monsters do you see waltzing around New York. There aren't many people out there who would give thier life for the one they love but the film is about one of the few people that would. and its fairly obvious that the reason that the others follow him is that they are scared and dont know what to do themselves. surely thats the whole point of disaster movies. there is always someone who needs rescuing and thats what we go there to see. it wouldn't be a very exciting film if they heard a bang, ran into the streets and got rescued now would it. Im just glad its not another Rambo type film where the hero runs in with a inconceivably large gun and shoots the creature dead despite the whole US military failing. and im also glad it wasnt one of those films where almost everyone dies but then at the last minute, a miracle weapon or cure is developed and the day is saved. it was refreshing to see a film where the bad guy wins. now that is more realistic.

the third point about the 911 towers was ludicrous. its blatantly obvious that that wasn't the directors intention and when i read that i just kept thinking "if this movie critic had his way, there wouldnt be any more disaster movies located in new york ever again which is a scary thought. i cant imagine godzilla causing chaos in downtown kidderminster. it just wouldnt have the same appeal.

in conclusion, if you like sci fi disaster movies, Clover Field is a must see.