Movie Spoilers: Cloverfield

Movie hype of the week is ever awaited "Cloverfield" directed and created by J.J Abrams (Director and creator of TV's "Lost.") But is this movie really worth all the excitement? Does it stand up to the classic monsters, such as "Godzilla" and "King Kong"?

The movie was filmed using a hand-held video camera. Almost the entire time, held by NYC citizen, Hud (T.J. Miller), best friend of main character, Rob (Michael Stahl-David). The "handy cam" affect was used from beginning to end. Intension of using such a video affect was to give the viewers a direct eye view of the happenings. It wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't constantly pointing towards the floor, ceiling, or some wall, and it would have been nice to see more than blurs and bouncing when fast movement was needed (several people left the theatre on quick feet with their head in a popcorn bucket due to motion sickness.)

A slow note is held for approximately the first 30 minutes of the movie. It starts out with Rob video tapping his, as he put it, "very good day." He and his soon to be Ex-girlfriend, Beth (Odette Yustman), enjoy a day of random activities together, all of which was captured on the constant running video cam that was carried around throughout the movie.

Later the cam was passed onto Hud, who was the official holder until the last couple minutes of the movie, to video tape goodbye's from people at a surprise-going away party for Rob (the party was the idea of Rob's soon to be sister-in-law Lily Ford (Jessica Lucas), because Rob is leaving for Japan the next day.) It turns out the goodbye's are being reordered over the same tape that Rob used to capture his "very good day" on. The slow note continues with the party for about 20 minutes or so. Then BOOM! NYC experiences a "large earthquake."

The people at Rob's party rush up to the roof of the apartment building just to see a huge explosion off in the distance. Panic begins. Everyone then makes their way down to the streets, and, no sooner, witnesses another large explosion and see a fire ball coming at them; the Statue of Liberty's head. Excitement is now running through everyone and they take off for cover in nearby buildings. Soon something large is rampaging down the streets of NYC and shaking everything in its path.

Fast forwards: The horror begins and life ends

Rob later receives a message on his cell phone from his now ex (but he's still in love with her), Beth. She states in her message "I can't move. I'm stuck. Help me. Please help me." Rob attempts to contact her, but no answer. He then plans to find and rescue her.

It wasn't long after the monster appears in the film that main characters begin to die off. First to go was Rob's brother and Lily's fiancé, Jason (Mike Vogel). His life was cut short after an attempt to cross a bridge, along with Rob, Lily, Hud, and Lily's friend Marlena (Lizzy Caplan) who had been at the party as well, and the monster smashes the bridge into two. Rob, Lily, Hud, and Marlena all escape from the bridge and bear the pain of losing Jason who didn't make it.

Now with Jason gone and Beth in danger, the journey begins. Rob is determined to make his way to Beth, and leaves the "safe zone" and heads toward Beth's apartment where she's in danger (the monster is that way, as well.) Lily, Hud (with camera still filming), and Marlena decide to go with him.

The four's dangerous mission to Beth grows more dangerous and difficult with each minute. They find themselves caught between firing military troops and an angered-extremely large beast of some sort. Then, to boot, the large creature releases smaller creatures (that resemble mutated crabs) from its body. The crab-like creatures begin to hiss and squeal and attack everyone in their way. This sudden outburst sends the four friends hiding in an underground subway station.

Seeing no point staying in their current destination, the four decide to walk down a dark tunnel where the subways pass through in hopes that the next resting area will lead them to a safer part of town. They are soon joined by the crab-like creatures in the tunnels. They manage to escape to safety, but Marlena has been bit badly. Help is needed or she will die. They decide to, once again, leave their safety zone and head for life up top to seek help.

They find themselves in a shopping mall where US troops are treating the injured victims. Marlena begins to feel the affects of the bite. Hud turns the camera to her and notices that her eyes and mouth have blood seeping out. US troops then begin to scream that they have a bite victim, and Marlena is pulled away from her friends and put into a room. A vomiting sound irrupts from her vocals, and a ton of blood covers the inside of a glass wall from which the room she was put into. Lily, Rob, and Hud are now completely freaked out and are told she is gone. There's nothing that can be done.

Little time is left, and the three must make it to Beth. A US troop pulls them aside and tells them that they're going to gun down Manhattan in a couple hours. He informs them that they must make it to the safety-copters by a certain time, or they'll be destroyed along with the city. The three friends acknowledge, thank the man for his helpful information, and take off for Beth.

After dodging the monster and its smaller creatures, the three make their way up Beth's defaced apartment. She's found lying in her room with a pipe sticking from her chest, and it has her pinned to the ground. They manage to free the still alive Elizabeth and make for the safety-copters.

Once at the copters, Lily is separated from Beth, Rob, and Hud, and placed in a separate safety-copter. The three scream for Lily to wait for them once she's safe, and are loaded into a helicopter of their own. Later the monster appears and pulls the copter (caring Rob, Beth, and Hud) to the ground. They all make it, but are still in shock from the crash.

Once back on their feet, they scramble for shelter. Loud cries of the monster are heard close by. Hud turns with the camera to see a large lizard-like face staring, breathing deeply at him. After a couple second stare down, the un-named monster takes Hud into its jaws. You see the monster tossing him and the camera around inside its mouth, and then Hud is released and drops to the ground. A blurry-sighted camera, lying on its side, comes into focus and reveals a dead Hud.

Rob and Beth grab the camera (now full of monster data), and continue filming their attempt at life. They find fast retreat under a bridge. Rob (now holding the camera) stares into the lens and states his situation. He then points the camera toward Beth and she gives a quick farewell; it's highly visible that she's afraid.

The two say that they love each other, and the bombing of Manhattan takes place with the monster close outside. The bridge they're under begins to crumble, and the two are buried under piles of stone. No sound from either.

In the end, the camera is staring out from under the bridge ruble. The play button pushed. It shows the remaining video of Rob's "very good day." In the video, Beth and Rob are talking. Rob (holding the camera) asks Beth "Is there anything you would like to say?" And Beth replies with a smile on her face, "I had a very good day."

Overall:

This movie has been overall rated as a stinker. Many details were left out about the creature; it was never explained what the creature was, where it came from, and if it was ever destroyed. The poor ending failed to reveal what happened to Lily after she's separated from Hud, Rob, and Beth, and we never found out what became of Manhattan, everyone in Manhattan, and the enraged monster.

There were a couple scenes that were disconnected from reality, such as: Rob's cell phone battery dies and he's in the middle of trying to contact Beth. He then enters an electronics store, grabs a brand new cell phone battery from a package, and uses it as if it had been fully charged (cell phone batteries are not sold pre-charged). Then later in the movie, when Beth is removed from the pipe that has her pinned to the ground, she shows that she's in great pain. Then, all of a sudden, this pain of hers has vanished and she's running perfectly fine. She doesn't experience dizziness or anything from all the blood she's losing from her wound (I don't know about you, but if I had just been pulled from a pipe that impaled my chest I'd have quite a bit of pain and have difficulties keeping up.) Earlier in the film, when Marlena is bit by the crab-like creatures she experiences pain from her wound and dizziness from lack of blood. So why did J.J fail to give this reality affect to Beth? No one knows.

This movie is rated PG-13 for disturbing images, language (30+ uses of the S-word; approx. half-dozen misuses of "Jesus"; 20+ misuses of "God"; and other mild language), and brief nudity.