Spoilers Galore
CLOVERFIELD boasts a grade Z cast of unknown actors in an attempt, I expect, not only to save money but also to keep a low profile with the fanboy set, for it's not like photographers crowding around a Johnny Depp set, is it, there are almost 100 per cent nobodies in the cast. Wonder if any of them will be able to get a job on the back of this film--I hope so, since no one is really bad, except for the jackass holding the camera, who proves that whatever Seth Rogen has, he's not sharing it with his peers. I looked up his name in the credits, says it's "T. J. Miller," the sort of name female impersonators in the 50s used to go by to confuse nightclub patrons. But he plays "Hud," and otherwise steers clear of the androgynous spirit, always playing the big dumb guy so, he's consistent. No one's superbad, ha ha, and a few of the actors actually rise to the challenge and give it a go.

The best known actor, Mike Vogel, does a "Janet Leigh" here, which must have confounded all Vogel fans who paid good hard money to get into the theater! How'd you like it if, when you paid $12 to see a Jim Carrey movie, and then you find out that after 15 minutes, Jim Carrey's off somewhere else doing another movie? I'd be annoyed, but luckily for most of us that's around when we start getting glimpses of the hideous monster devouring Manhattan and the thrills and chills start exploding left and right!

Vogel is great by the way, and I am sure he'll go on to better parts, hopefully longer ones too. Maybe for his next movie he could come in for the last 20 minutes and people will be glad to see him--maybe a remake of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN sort of thing?

Terrible
Without a doubt, one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I thought Blair Witch Project was bad. Cloverfield makes Blair Witch look like a classic. The Director of this movies should not be given any more movies to direct. The actors should all report to the unemployment office and seek retraining in another field. This qualifies for the biggest rasberry of all time. I can't believe they charged money to see this movie. I feel as though I have been robbed. If this movie was a building it would be condemed; it's that bad.

Worth watching on DVD
By reading the other reviews, I get the feeling that many of their authors are basing their reviews of their experiences in the theater. I have seen this movie on the small-screen only, and will state that the hand-held camera point-of-view of this movie is not that bad when seen on a 21-inch screen. You still all the important details of each scene, without getting sick in either the head or stomach.

Now to the story itself. New York City is being wrecked by a 300-feet tall monster. This creature has two short hind legs and two long front legs that also double as arms. The creature's skin looks smooth and dark, and its head is long with teeth inside a horizontal mouth and what seems like two short horns; one beside each side of the mouth. Overall, the monster has a general body outline of a stretched frog. The monster does not breathe fire, or shoot anything out of any orifice, or fly. But it does carry around multitudes of smaller creatures, each about the size of a large dog. These smaller creatures look like gigantic locusts; a skinny body with a hard exoskeleton, six long jointed legs, an ability to crawl up walls and jump really high. The difference is that these smaller creatures are each armed with a long jaw full of sharp teeth. At first, I thought they were offspring of the bigger monster, but then I watched the special features. One of the special features basically explains that this 300-foot creature is an alien baby that crawled out of NYC harbor and into the city. Like a human baby who has just come across a pen full of new toys, there is a lot of screaming, biting, kicking and knocking things over. So with our baby monster; it knocks buildings over, bites people, and roars a lot. The smaller dog-sized creatures are most likely parasites living on the skin of the bigger monster; like fleas on a dog.

Now to the positives and negatives. Positives first. The monster looks real and original. The special effects are wonderful. The smaller insect-like creatures are really scary. And the cast is comprised of unknowns, which is original for action flick. Now the negatives.

kewl flick, but a bit nauseating
i loved this movie and saw it in the theater as soon as it came out. i think the lost camera thing helped make it very realistic and entertaining. the only part i didn't like was when they were at the party in the beginning and swinging the camera all around madly. it has some crashes, gore, sprinting down manhatten streets covered in glass and rubble in just bare feet. yes, they all die except lily,and people say that's depressing. so what? people die.

all in all, a good movie, though maybe not one you'd want to see with little kids or your grandparents.

Biggest waste of time ever!
I've never been so angry about such an overrated and overhyped movie as Cloverfield. First 20 minutes NOTHING happens. I was so bored I could scream. The rest of this poor excuse for a movie was dull, dull, dull. Totally forgettable noname actors, no excitement, almost no dialog, no explanation for anything. The ending was the icing on this awful cake. Nothing happens in the ending either. Even the title is dull, as it makes no sense.

All those involved in making this film should be blacklisted by the studios from ever getting funding for future films.