Pace Paw Print

Media Credit: iwatchstuff.com "Number one first two weeks, grossing in $41 million it's first day out."

Cloverfield is the reinvention of the monster movie genre as a character driven suspense with a twist of mystery. While Cloverfield is a monster movie, its main focus is the people in it and how they react to such a crisis.

The mystery and suspense are tied together very well. At first you just want to see the monster, but as the movie continues, there seems to be more questions rose that become answered. The suspense ties in well because as you are trying to figure out what is happening, you will be thrown into crazy action that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

Ever since the unnamed trailer appeared when Transformers hit theaters, there has been a lot of viral marketing associated with this movie. It started at the website 1-18-08.com, with a picture of people from the trailer on the site. As the release date approached closer there were even more questions and answers to where the monster came from.

The characters themselves had their own My Space accounts with comments from different characters of the movie. As the release date came closer, another website aired a fake news report release about the monster attacking the company's oil rig, which was quite entertaining to watch.

The story of Cloverfield is a simple one. The main character, Rob, is moving to Japan for a new job, so his friends throw him a party. On the night of his send off, a monster attacks the city. So Rob takes it upon himself to find his love interest, Beth, and get her out the city. He is not alone on his journey; he is accompanied by his friends and family.

Director Matt Reeves gives the movie strong character development and good pacing. If it wasn't for the character development, this movie would have been another Independence Day.

Every character in the movie takes on their own unique personality and there is enough variation so that everyone can relate to any one of the characters at anytime in the movie. This connection makes it difficult to watch the characters struggle for survival.

Reeves does a good job with the pacing, giving the audience enough time to breath. He utilizes the first ten minutes to introduce the characters. Once the action begins, it hits hard and doesn't let go. Fortunately, Reeves gives enough of a break for the audience to recoup until the next explosive scene.

It is said that Cloverfield is "our" Godzilla, but not in the way you might expect. Godzilla was made seven or eight years after the nuclear bombing and that movie was kind of their way of dealing with it. The same can be said for Cloverfield. This movie has many similarities to 9/11 and this movie can give us a little insight on how it must have been for those present.

Cloverfield really put the fun back into movies. As movie is going along, you are sitting there wondering what you would do in the same situation. It truly seems that you're in the film along with the characters, going through the different areas, thanks to the first person perspective camera view.

The acting in this movie is great. What are even better are the things that are not in the film, such as overwhelming unrealistic actions sequences. It offers suspense, and some comic relief when necessary.

This movie will have you screaming, laughing and watching in awe until the final scene. It is one of those movies where it really benefits seeing it in the theaters, seeing it anywhere else wouldn't be the same.

Bottom line: This movie is a fun filled ride from start to finish and can be enjoyed by all ages. By the end of the movie you will be wishing for more. 8.7 (Hint: at the last scenes of the movie watch the right side of screen and also there is a little something at the end of the credits)

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