It's been called the "Blair Godzilla Project," and perhaps rightly so. Cloverfield meshes the jerky handheld camcorder-style feel of Blair Witch Project with a good old-fashioned monster movie, and it does so to good effect. From the opening scenes of a young couple in the afterglow of a wonderful day (and night), through the going away party for one of a group of friends which ends (quite literally) with a bang, and through the journey of this same group of friends as they attempt to escape from a city under siege, Cloverfield grips its viewers by the throat (and by the heartstrings) and doesn't let go until its powerful conclusion.
Presented as footage recovered by the Department of Defense from a device found in the "location formerly known as Central Park," the film does a good job conveying the illusion that it was all captured by a decidedly amateur videographer using basic consumer video equipment. Dark scenes are, well, really dark with no real shadow details because a camera like this can't capture shadow details (but watch out when he switches over to night vision mode as they travel through the subway tunnels), and as the group runs away from a pursuing threat, the camera points to the floor, the ceiling, the sky, pretty much like it would if you were running for your life with a video camera in your hand.
But this doesn't mean the film is without its "money shots" of the runaway beast and the havoc it wreaks in its path. In fact, it seems that this group is quite lucky (or unlucky as could also be argued) to be in just the right place at just the right time to catch most of the major action front and center, without even the need to exercise the camera's zoom lens. There are a few scenes which are so real as to be disturbing, such as the collapsing skyscraper in New York City which generates an immense dust and debris cloud, followed by sheets of paper floating down from the heavens and into the streets. Echoes of 9/11, anyone?
Had this been a traditional monster movie, shot the old-fashioned way, it may not have held up that well, or been as compelling, but presented as a sort of ad hoc amateur documentary, the film works. Cloverfield is at times funny, touching and terrifying and an enjoyably disturbing way to spend an hour and a half.
For an alternate view on the film, see Joe Lozito's Cloverfield review.
The Picture
You could say Paramount had it easy for this one. A film that is supposed to look like a home video doesn't need to hold up under the microscope as a "reference transfer." In fact, you could argue that DVD is more than up to the task of capturing this film. But in reality, the Blu-ray Disc captures more detail than I've ever seen in a home video - or on a DVD for that matter. I guess they were using one of those fancy new 1080p high def camcorders. In any case, if you are a fan of the movie, you'll want to get it on Blu-ray Disc as the video transfer captures the action better than DVD possibly could, yet without revealing the magic of visual effects which made it all come together.
The Sound
Presented in lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround, Cloverfield's audio, like the video, exceeds anything that you could possibly capture on a consumer video recorder. The bass response of explosions and mortar fire is visceral and deep, dialog is clear and articulate and surround effects are discrete and immersive. In short, the soundtrack supports the film without drawing too much attention to itself.
The Extras
Extras on this Blu-ray release are interesting, if not extensive, and do enhance one's enjoyment of the film. The "making of" documentaries reveal just how difficult it was to integrate the real with the computer generated, to present a seamless whole. My favorite extra was probably "Special Investigation Mode." If you've ever seen an enhanced episode of "Lost" (also produced by J.J. Abrams), you'll be somewhat familiar with the format. While watching the film in Special Investigation Mode, informative messages pop up from time to time to give us (fake) background information on the characters, settings and situations in the film. There's also a map of New York City which shows our protagonists' and the creature's progress through the city.
Final Thoughts
Cleverly packaged as a home made accidental documentary, Cloverfield is a fresh take on the traditional monster movie. With a high quality audio and video transfer and some interesting extras, Cloverfield on Blu-ray is an easy recommendation for purchase.
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