Cloverfield is not a giant monster movie. Going in with the expectation to see a monster rampaging through New York is not the proper way of thinking. This disaster movie happens to be caused by a massive hulking beast shot from the innovative POV of a handheld camera.

If anything, Cloverfield answers the question “what if” to the classic movie scenario. What if an unidentified monster suddenly and unexpectedly showed up in a major city? Undoubtedly, they would play out much like what happens here. The performances, unique style, and proper amount of action give off an immense sense of authenticity to a ridiculous concept.

Cloverfield has a few obvious, glaring problems. The love story that serves as the basis for the story is a mess of clichés, giving the core of the film a familiar feel. The only thing separating it from a dull drama is the camera. Its purpose is simply to push the characters from place to place, even though the disaster occurring around them should have been enough.

Secondary, many of the scenes are taken out of any disaster movie. As the cast struggles to survive, there are shots plucked out of numerous ‘70s disaster epics. The danger would have been as effective with an earthquake at the heart of the problem and not a giant monster.

Thirdly, this is occasionally frustrating to watch. Anyone who walks into the film expects to see the beast, and yet the audience is mostly stuck listening to the attack in the background. Other times, the cameraman is focused on the wrong target, the worst case being the military assault. If you’re goal is to film this “so everyone should know how it all went down,” why are we looking at your friends and not the once-in-a-lifetime moment occurring down the block?

Stunning images are abound, and those sensitive to the 9/11 disaster should be forewarned. The destruction leads to some eerily similar footage, and a late rescue attempt leads to a shot that is an obvious correlation. Like the original 1954 Godzilla in which the Japanese found an allegory for the Hiroshima bombings in their film, it’s not hard to pull the similarities here with an American one.