Cloverfield uses the “found footage” direction as a method of insisting upon authenticity. It is weakened by its stupid posturing and overblown effects, with characters determined to be as plastic and artificial as the equipment that filmed them.
This primitive and masturbatory simulation of terror is undermined by the existence of the footage itself. Why film a catastrophe when your life is instantly at risk for doing so? There would be no advantage even for the most whimsical – they would face immediate danger.
Despite this fatal initiation, the movie continues, repeatedly punctured by empty performances, eye-rolling action scenes, questionable special effects and overblown sound design, all to feed a narcissistic desire of self-importance.
The relentless abundance of symbols indicative of class is also tiresome; despite the wild destruction and fearsome explosions, Cloverfield maintains a tireless supply of jewelry, phones, shoes and haircuts to wear. Maybe this is a monster movie after all.
No rating
Possession Media 