Some Critics Just Don’t Get ‘Cloverfield’

Jan 23, 11:15 PM

After having watched the movie, I can say that I did enjoy it. It is not your traditional monster or horror-style picture, and maybe that’s why a few critics seemed to have missed the point on why this movie should be given a good rating.

Following the screening of a movie that I’ve seen in the theater or on video, I usually like to get a feel for what the critics thought and compare notes. My favorite site is RottenTomatoes.com because of its wide sampling of critics from all over the net and the publishing world. Cloverfield received a rating of 75%, which is pretty good.

Reading the negative criticisms, I noticed that a lot of critics faulted the movie on a lack of character and story development. I believe it’s because they were comparing it to the traditional form of film storytelling. Movies guide audiences through the story by dropping huge hints and exploring dark corners and histories of each of the characters to explain their motives.

Cloverfield is not a movie made in that traditional vein. It’s concept movie-making. The idea is that a home video is retrieved by the government from the site of a horrific incident and we are in on the screening as voyeurs of that video as though holding the camcorder in our hands. This gives no room to lay out a way of exploring the protagonists with any kind of depth. And why should it? Many critics have predefined expectations of what a movie should look like and how the story ought to progress. This can be quite limiting, especially if the filmmaker wants to use an innovative technique to tell a story from a different perspective.

It is unreasonable in the context of the way this story is told to hold it to standards which simply don’t apply. With an open mind to accepting an alternate way of telling a compelling tale that attempts to immerse the viewer in this virtual world, this movie can indeed move the emotions, fill the senses and provide a stirring emotional experience that is truly unique.

Thankfully, three out four critics did indeed get it.