Whilst away on holiday I have treated myself to the DVD version of the 'sequel' to Cloverfield, 10 Cloverfield Lane.
If, like me, you enjoyed Cloverfield mostly for its monsters then, like me, you will have waited with bated breath for this second film.
Okay, the shaky hand-held camerawork/ found footage format of the first film was tiresome to say the least, a sweetener for the lucrative youth vote, but that aside it was a great creature feature with a beast sufficiently massive and monstrous to keep Kaiju nuts happy as Harryhausen.
So what about 10 Cloverfield Lane?
Well I won't be spoiling anything by saying that it's different to the first flick. It's hard to say whether it's a sequel or a prequel or whether it's related at all apart from the name.
It's a very claustrophobic movie, which does however manage to ratchet up the tension, largely owing to John Goodman's central performance as an unhinged survivalist gagging for Armageddon.
In the last twenty minutes the film comes alive and enters solid sci-fi territory. Alas, this late main course, despite being well-crafted with all the best ingredients, is lukewarm and somewhat miserly. There just aren't enough beasts.
As the film closes its hard for a monster nut not to feel cheated. The name promised so much but even with Hollywood golden boy Abrams' muscle behind it the flick amounts to little.
Only the final reel hints at what might have been along the lane.
Have you seen it?
not seen it, but was tempted by the female lead, who starred as Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim and the Thing prequel. John Goodman is a comedy actor for me, despite having a powerful stage presence - loved his mad klansman in Oh Brother. Cloverfield wound me up no end,more for the viral marketing campaign which preceded it, promising so much and then the found footage format which annoyed the hell out of me. The monster scenes were great, but left me wanting to know more. Too much emphasis on the teenage love triangle and not enough on the world changing devastation makes me wary of Abrams monster franchises. Spielbergs influence rescued Super 8 from slipping into this skewed oblivion, but I doubt Ill bother wandering down the Lane on this one,unless its on tv and theres no other option.
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