I wasn't overly impressed with Cloverfield.
Warning, spoiler and negative opinion follows...
Basically, it's a survivor story. The plot was very thin, and even that had a number of holes which I thought had just been woefully neglected by the makers. I don't want to write too much about the plot issues here, though.
A plotless survivor story must at least have a genuine human interest, which I didn't feel. This may well just be a personal thing, but I didn't feel any sense of intimacy with the characters, and they were not likeable for me.
Hud had a couple of funny comments, but I found him annoying one dimensional, and way too pathetic. I didn't see a genuine level of intimacy between Hud, and his best friend, on a personal level (not counting survivor type actions taken together). Hud seemed closer to his best friend's brother. Having said that, there were one or two touching moments.
Godzilla actually has more plot and substance than Cloverfield, and I don't consider that to be a great endorsement. I'm a sci-fi fan, and I find it disappointing when a movie such as Cloverfield teases my curiosity, but delves no further into the main concept of the movie than a few people running for their lives.
The monster special effects were done well, and I'm quite OK with the monster only being viewed in fleeting glances. I think this usually works well with horror, as it maintains a level of mystery.
Personally, I much preferred 28 Days Later, for a budget survivor movie. I found the action much more gripping, and frantic.
So, want to shoot me down, Moto? ;-)
