CloverfieldMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 64 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 13+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

83

Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum
Cloverfield, a surreptitiously subversive, stylistically clever little gem of an entertainment disguised, under its deadpan-neutral title, as a dumb Gen-YouTube monster movie, makes the convincingly chilling argument that the world will end -- or, at least, Manhattan will crumble -- with a bang and a whimper. Read full review
75

San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub
Produced by "Lost" and "Alias" mastermind J.J. Abrams, Cloverfield has been one of the more interesting experiments in large-scale guerrilla filmmaking. Read full review
75

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
Mercifully, at 84 minutes the movie is even shorter than its originally alleged 90-minute running time; how much visual shakiness can we take? And yet, all in all, it is an effective film, deploying its special effects well and never breaking the illusion that it is all happening as we see it. Read full review
75

USA Today | Claudia Puig
The genre may be old news, but the skillfully made Cloverfield offers a heart-racing experience with plenty of chills, thrills and exhilaration. Read full review
70

The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen
Think "Godzilla Unplugged" -- with chillingly effective results. Read full review
63

Rolling Stone | Peter Travers
Now that the fanboy hype has cleared, we can see Cloverfield for what it is: borrowed inspiration, trite screenwriting and amateurish acting all in the service of a ballsy idea -- that a horror movie could maybe, just maybe, have a soul. Read full review
50

Variety | Todd McCarthy
Despite its indie-flavored shooting style, first-rate visual effects, reasonable intensity factor, nihilistic attitude and post-9/11 anxiety overlay, this punchy sci-fier is, in the end, not much different from all the marauding creature features that have come before it. Read full review
50

Los Angeles Times | Kevin Crust
Adept at wringing maximum suspense and might have reached the heights of the Korean monster film "The Host" but for the limitations of the camcorder ploy. While it injects the film with a run-and-gun urgency, the device grows tiresome and ultimately leaves the film shortchanged. Read full review
30

Washington Post |
Cloverfield is a relentless, I-thought-my-eyeballs-were-bleeding exercise in visual disorientation. Read full review
30

The New York Times | Manohla Dargis
Like too many big-studio productions, Cloverfield works as a showcase for impressively realistic-looking special effects, a realism that fails to extend to the scurrying humans whose fates are meant to invoke pity and fear but instead inspire yawns and contempt. Rarely have I rooted for a monster with such enthusiasm. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Cloverfield on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 13+ Tense monster movie is loud, hectic -- and scary.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this monster movie from the creator of Lost rightly comes with a warning for viewers who are sensitive to unsteady camerawork -- the entire movie is filmed from a handheld perspective, and the images are frequently hectic and loud. Violence includes monster attacks, people running and screaming, people bitten by creatures in dark spaces, explosions, ruined buildings and landmarks, fire, bloody bodies, and military strikes. Some of the imagery initially recalls scenes from 9/11. An early scene shows a young woman in bed (presumably after sex), her naked back and side visible (nothing explicit). A party scene shows cleavage and drinking. Language includes repeated uses of "s--t" and some "damns" and "hells."

Families can talk about whether the movie's images remind them of 9/11. Do you think that was intentional? How has that event -- so much of which was captured in the media and shown on television -- affected subsequent horror/action movies?
Why is New York such an attractive target city in these movies?
Does the handheld camerawork make the action scarier? Why or why not? What other movies/media have used this approach?
Is the movie accurate in its depiction of how public events are documented (immediately filmed, commented on, blogged about, etc.) in today's world?

The good stuff

Positive messages: The monster's motivations are never revealed -- it's just a force for the horrific.
Positive role models: The hero resolves to find his lover who's trapped many blocks away; he and his friends make a noble trek to find her.

What to watch for

Violence: First apparent explosion jars the camera, shuts down power, and leads characters to worry about an earthquake or terrorist attack. Later images recall 9/11 in NYC (building crumbles; dust cloud sweeps through the street; people run, scream, and stumble). TV reports show fires and buildings and a bridge collapsing. Large reptilian monster is occasionally visible (roaring, smashing buildings); smaller/sharp-toothed monsters attack protagonists in a very dark subway tunnel. Most of the action focuses on victims panicking, with loud smashing and booming on the soundtrack. Military assaults (explosions, missiles, gunfire, bombs).
Sex: Early scene shows a naked woman in bed, her back visible. Party scene shows woman's cleavage, especially as the cameraman is drawn to women's bodies (his shifting focus serves as light comedy).
Language: Repeated uses of "s--t," as well as "hell," "goddamn," and some slang ("douchebag").
Consumerism: Some brief background shots: Aquafina, Mountain Dew.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Party scene shows drinking (beer, liquor) and a bar stocked with bottles.

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.