Cloverfield is simply a clever, albeit derivative, spin on a very predictable genre, and as such its easy to indulge in if you go with the inherit silliness.
Comment
01/16/08
Rate this Movie 
Cloverfield (2008)
77 %
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted: 188
Fresh: 144
Rotten:44
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Consensus: A sort of Blair Witch Project crossed with Godzilla, Cloverfield is economically paced, stylistically clever, and filled with scares.
Theatrical Release: Jan 18, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $79,952,254
Synopsis: Director Matt Reeves (THE PALLBEARER) and producer J. J. Abrams (LOST, ALIAS) turn a mysterious monster loose in Manhattan in the disaster flick CLOVERFIELD. The movie begins at a party for Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who has accepted a... [More]
Starring: Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman, Lizzy Caplan
Director: Matt Reeves
DVD Info
Reviews for Cloverfield
Top Critic
Cloverfield has most things I deplore about movies and a couple of things I admire.
01/16/08
Top Critic A clunky blend of hand-held camera and faux realism. How can the creator of shows like Alias and Lost make such weak movies?
09/30/08
It's the closest a film has ever gotten to a roller-coaster ride. It will definitely nauseate, it feels claustrophobic, there are sudden scares, and it also peaks too early.
08/27/08
If you like kick butt monster movies, then this one will deliver for you! Go see it right away!
08/22/08
Despite the mostly convincing verisimilitude of the approach, the film does succumb, especially in its last act, to some cheap manipulation, one or two bad stereotypes, and some cornball Hollywood schmaltz.
07/22/08
...an A for effort, a B for visuals, a C for content, and a C for photography, the latter, of course, being intentionally herky-jerky.
06/03/08
Cinéma Vérité Godzilla - canny enough to have been designed for the YouTube generation as well as for those elder folks like myself that still like a good ride on the roller coaster every once in awhile.
05/22/08
If some veterans have flashbacks while watching "Saving Private Ryan," it should be safe to say that "Cloverfield" will bring back a lot bad memories for some New Yorkers. Yes, "Cloverfield" looks and feels that realistic.
05/20/08
The persistently shaky camera sways to and fro so much the upshot is more nauseating than thrilling. Skip the nachos/ hotdog combo and opt for a packet of aspirin instead.
05/13/08
I, for one, would be using the F-bomb far more gratuitously if faced with a possible encounter with a creature that could well swallow me whole.
04/25/08
A fascinatingly wrought experimental film that holds you in awe at what Reeves and his production crew was able to pull off, inspiring more appreciation than a gut level sense of being there.
04/21/08
CLOVERFIELD is one of those films you wish you could see for the very first time again because the impact will just never be the same on second viewing. I treasured the experience of getting to see this in the theater and it will forever leave a mark on m
04/17/08
Mixing the immediacy of documentary observation and the slam-bang pace of the modern disaster epic, Cloverfield is economic and engaging.
04/15/08
'Cloverfield' is a sleek, silly product of green filmmaking: It recycles old ideas and molds them into a lean, briskly paced thriller that owes as much to classic monster movies like 'Godzilla' as gimmick-driven misfires like 'The Blair Witch Project.'
04/09/08
Mystery monster really mad at Manhattan on rampage, making the collective audience skin crawl and leaving you with sweaty palms and clenched teeth, no matter what row you're sitting in.
04/07/08
For all its popularity, self-documentation's purpose and meaning remain elusive.
03/21/08
Latest News for Cloverfield
September 25, 2008:
Matt Reeves Will Let the Right One In 
Overture is prepping a remake of Tomas Alfredson's Swedish vampire movie "Lat Den Ratte Komma In," to be helmed by "Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves. More...
April 21, 2008:
RT on DVD: Cloverfield, Charlie Wilson and 2008's Worst-Reviewed Film
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a Slusho, whatever that is! Cloverfield stomps its way onto DVD as not only the most exciting new release of the week, but the one most... More...
March 07, 2008:
Guide of the Dead - An RT Romero Retrospective
As Diary of the Dead hits cinemas, we sit down with George A. Romero to talk retrospectively about what has come from his zombie opus, the Dead series, and what the future has... More...
February 22, 2008:
UK Box Office Breakdown: Jumper Leaps into First
Jumper takes the top spot in this week's UK box office, but Juno holds strong at number three and there are strong performances for There Will Be Blood and Cloverfield. More...
Related Forums for Cloverfield
Coney Island Ending (spoiler)
by: Def002 9/19
by: Def002 9/19
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
 83% |
Tropic Thunder |
| 96% |
WALL-E |
| 89% |
Kung Fu Panda |
| 88% |
Hellboy II: The Golden… |
 53% |
Get Smart |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 73% |
Wanted |
| 66% |
Chronicles of Narnia: … |
| 54% |
Step Brothers |
| 32% |
The X-Files: I Want to Believe |
| 38% |
The Longshots |
