Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Starring: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr., Bradley Cooper.
Score: Bear McCreary
Well, I'm rather undecided but I think overall I enjoyed it. I wouldn't see it again but yeah. There are parts where my mind started to wander and think about dinner options and other things but the last half of the movie certainly makes up for the slow beginning. It's a bunker movie that kept reminding me of Shallow Grave and how the characters gently collide with one another within a confine space. None of the characters were likeable but Ramona.. Sorry, I mean Mary Elizabeth Winstead's obvious protagonist had a very Ellen Ripley'esque about her and is pretty much MacGyver throughout the entire film. I'm not sure if Emmett was suppose to be some comic relief, but Gallagher does good and plays his part well. John Goodman is excellent and yes, you would be right to assume there's something just not right about Howard. Think of Spielberg's World of the Wars and Tim Robbins' character. If Cruise didn't kill him, you end up with a Howard. It gets you paranoid and I even started to self doubt. And the clever thing is that you have the original Cloverfield film lurking in the back of mind trying to figure out whether it is or not. In my opinion it's not. Connected, yes, but it's nothing like the first apart from that element of fear. It's a different film entirely and you could watch this without having any knowledge of the first. However, I like the idea now; and when first hearing about this film I was slightly disappointed it wasn't really going to be like the first. But how could anyone continue that story without it either suffering a failed 'seen it all before' repeat with; wait a second, bigger monsters or the route the filmmakers have chosen here. It makes sense to me now having seen the film, the prequel being the first wave and this one as Howard describes, is the second wave. And I have probably given way too much away already as I know the trailers spurred so many questions concerning the aliens and such. But none of it feels original, nothing new here or maybe that's because it's like a mash-up of films I've seen before. The sound editing is noticeably amazing; it has to be being the genre that it is. It's haunting and thrilling. It's very well shot with some great camera work but no HUD this time, understandably so. But would fans of the first enjoy this? I can't speak for all the other fans but for me, being a fan of the first, I enjoyed it, but as a separate film and more of a reference to the first.
Running Time: 6
The Cast: 8
Performance: 8
Direction: 8
Story: 6
Script: 5
Creativity: 6
Soundtrack: 6
Job Description: 8
The Extra Bonus Point: 5 for the sound editing.
66% 7/10
