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Originally Posted by Scott Warner
I see this opinion a lot in defense of this film: "What did you expect?"
Have you ever seen 'Alien'? That's what I expect. There's the bar. To paraphrase Ridley Scott, a low budget but well crafted b-movie.
Or more specifically, I care when every single character in 'Alien' dies because all of them are likable in their own ways. In 'Cloverfield' I could care less because none of the characters are likable at all. It is story development 101: I HAVE TO CARE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS IN ORDER TO CARE ABOUT THEIR PROBLEMS.
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Yeah, it was a cheesey defense, but I wasn't really defending the movie. I know a lot of people that hated it and their reasons are spot on. Its not a great movie, but it was still really enjoyable for me. Its the same reason I love horribly stupid horror movies or disaster movies, sometimes its just fun to watch things that could never happen.
I didn't feel bad about the characters because this is a 1.25 hour blurry destruction movie. Its not like Magnolia where I cry for each character's dilemas. It's not like Alien where I hold my breath worrying about the feelings of the crew as their friend dies from an alien bursting out their stomach. And although the only time I felt bad in CLOVERFIELD was when Marlena died, I still enjoyed the movie a lot.
Enjoyable doesn't always have to equal good. There are plenty of movies that I enjoy watching but when broken down, are just not good movies.
This movie wouldn't have worked for me if it was shot traditionally. I've thought about this and came to that conclusion. What makes it fun for me is the dizzying glimpses and losing-battle aspect.
@Gof
What doesn't make sense? Rather, I thought a large part of this movie was that you didn't know where it came from, why its there, and what it's doing outside of when the 5 kids interact with it. Making sense doesn't factor in when you aren't being told details. That was a nice touch I thought. Rather than having some mega-scientist giving a 10 minute diatribe on where it came from and how to defeat it, it added to a faux realism for the video camera. Again, its not a GOOD movie, but its a FUN movie and one I would recommend for that reason alone.