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Udaman
01-19-2008, 09:50 AM
Started a new thread, just so everyone knows this contains spoilers.

Saw it yesterday.....Hmmmm....where to begin. I guess overall I liked it. But not a lot. If I had seen it with no warning at all about what was happening, I might have liked it more. But with all the hype, I was actually really disappointed.

The problem wasn't the Blair Witchesque nature of the camera - though that did get old. It was just that pretty much every cliche about monster movies happened. People acting stupid - check. People not at all doing what they normally would - check. Things chasing you in the dark - check. Monster bites that are really poison and make you bleed out - check. Completely unbelievable things happening - check, check, check, and check. This movie was Aliens, Blair Witch, Godzilla, The Mist, and others all rolled into one.

But it was the unbelievable things happening that really sort of ruined it for me. Three in particular, all at the end. First - the building that sort of fell, but not really and was resting on another building. Cool special effect, but so much a violation of every law of physics. Then, the girlfriend just happens to still be alive (but with a metal rod through her shoulder, which would have collapsed her lung and caused death in a few hours (she was there for several). At that point in the movie, I was done.

But there were two more. Second - they get in the helicopter, and then it "follows" the monster. I was literally screaming at the screen - "That's so dumb, they would have gotten the hell out of there." Of course the monster jumps up - because they aren't even flying high enough - and knocks them down, and the three kids live, but the pilots are dead. So, so, so dumb.

Finally, they plane crashes I guess in Central Park (even though they were no where near that), and the kids don't run for cover, and then suddenly there's the monster. And he doesn't eat the guy with the camera, just picks him up and kills him. Ughh. First off, New York City is big. Hell, just Central Park is a 6 mile loop. But the monster just happens to be at the exact place where the kids are, at the exact time they are, and just out of the blue.

And this is what bummed me out. The monster is from the sea - getting attacked, and all he does for 6 hours is just walk around - basically right where the kids are. It doesn't leave Manhatten. It doesn't even make it north of 100th St. It never takes refuge in the sea.

Sorry, but it was pretty unbelievable. Not very scary, and way too much a collaboration of everything that's ever been done. The best part were the few bits of humor they threw in. It wasn't a complete waste of time, but I certainly don't want to see it again, and won't buy it for sure. Would give it a C+ at the most.

redick4pres
01-21-2008, 11:18 PM
I totally agree with all of your review points. Saw it today and I seriously thought that I wasted an hour and a half of my life. Seriously, I love movies and especially good endings so even after all you stated above, if the ending would have been something crazy instead of predictable, it could have saved everything else. Anyway, gotta go see something else soon to make up for this garbage I saw today! Great review though. I also give it a C+.

cf-62
01-22-2008, 06:14 PM
Started a new thread, just so everyone knows this contains spoilers.

Saw it yesterday.....Hmmmm....where to begin. I guess overall I liked it. But not a lot. If I had seen it with no warning at all about what was happening, I might have liked it more. But with all the hype, I was actually really disappointed.

The problem wasn't the Blair Witchesque nature of the camera - though that did get old. It was just that pretty much every cliche about monster movies happened. People acting stupid - check. People not at all doing what they normally would - check. Things chasing you in the dark - check. Monster bites that are really poison and make you bleed out - check. Completely unbelievable things happening - check, check, check, and check. This movie was Aliens, Blair Witch, Godzilla, The Mist, and others all rolled into one.

But it was the unbelievable things happening that really sort of ruined it for me. Three in particular, all at the end. First - the building that sort of fell, but not really and was resting on another building. Cool special effect, but so much a violation of every law of physics. Then, the girlfriend just happens to still be alive (but with a metal rod through her shoulder, which would have collapsed her lung and caused death in a few hours (she was there for several). At that point in the movie, I was done.

But there were two more. Second - they get in the helicopter, and then it "follows" the monster. I was literally screaming at the screen - "That's so dumb, they would have gotten the hell out of there." Of course the monster jumps up - because they aren't even flying high enough - and knocks them down, and the three kids live, but the pilots are dead. So, so, so dumb.

Finally, they plane crashes I guess in Central Park (even though they were no where near that), and the kids don't run for cover, and then suddenly there's the monster. And he doesn't eat the guy with the camera, just picks him up and kills him. Ughh. First off, New York City is big. Hell, just Central Park is a 6 mile loop. But the monster just happens to be at the exact place where the kids are, at the exact time they are, and just out of the blue.

And this is what bummed me out. The monster is from the sea - getting attacked, and all he does for 6 hours is just walk around - basically right where the kids are. It doesn't leave Manhatten. It doesn't even make it north of 100th St. It never takes refuge in the sea.

Sorry, but it was pretty unbelievable. Not very scary, and way too much a collaboration of everything that's ever been done. The best part were the few bits of humor they threw in. It wasn't a complete waste of time, but I certainly don't want to see it again, and won't buy it for sure. Would give it a C+ at the most.

So I want to get this straight:

You were able to suspend your disbelief for:

* Giant morphing praying mantis lizard monster appears out of nowhere and starts tearing through NYC
* Spider-like parasites (who also appear out of nowhere) fall off it (100, 200 feet) and attack people with venom that causes them to explode blood
* NOTHING can penetrate the beast, missiles, tank shells, bombs, etc.
* IT then DISAPPEARS again and reappears under the Brooklyn Bridge with no warning.
* It takes the head off the statue of liberty -- and then HOLDS ONTO IT for a good 10 minutes waiting for the opportunity to use it as a weapon to take down a building

but you then have a problem with the actions of the "last" military chopper (with just 2 civilian passengers) and the "ability of the beast" to seemingly move 3 miles in a matter of minutes (unlike the previous 3 times it magically moved between downtown and midtown).

Come on UDM, if you like the first hour of the movie, you have to keep your suspension of disbelief through to the end.

CF