[quote=@mdk] Actually it's not. I loved the movie, and I loved Cloverfield, so I looked up the continuity -- they're totally different universes. The reason for the crossover title is, it's got a similar 'vibe' with Cloverfield -- in that it's a big-scary-monster movie that's [i]really not about the monster, not even remotely[/i]. [/quote] I don't know if I believe that. [quote] My take -- the first portion is like a combination of Signs (Shayamalan) and Ex Machina. Character-driven, psychological thriller, indie/small-budget cleverness and [i]fucking incredible writing[/i]. Well directed, well shot.... fucking brilliant. [hider=spoilers]Then it morphs suddenly and dramatically into War of the Worlds (the Tom Cruise one) meets Alien (meaning the whole franchise, but mostly the first one). It's improvised warfare against horrifying, impossible space enemies. It's visceral and cool [i]and again, fucking incredible writing[/i] -- shit is still tying back to stuff you heard about in the first part of the movie.[/hider] The magic in this movie is.... well, there's a lot. Every single thing worked. Acting was on point, directing was on point, writing was beyond on point, etc. The hitch is, it [i]legitimately[/i] feels like two different movies hacksawed at the 1:45 mark and sewn back together on the wrong body. Somewhere out there, there's an alien-invasion movie that ends with half an hour of family-style dining and board games. But I'll tell you what -- drawing it up that way took balls, and I think it works. More or less. It really didn't need the Cloverfield tag, but there it is, and yeah, I guess it's got the similar vibe thing going on.... but it's confusing, and probably more than a little bit of cash-grab. BUT HEY -- this is the Avengers era. If we're gonna have a movie 'series' that's linked by thematic elements instead of strict chronology and continuity, you know what, more power to you, JJ Abrams. I'll get behind that 100%. [/quote] I liked the boldness of it. >Is there aliens? >Is it just some slight reference to Aliens? NOPE. HERE THEY ARE. YEP, WHOLE WORLD IS FUCKED. AHH, WATCH OUT! I like the idea of it more than I care about the tonal shift. And I'm chalking up most complaints as little more than people being upset at something outside of their expectations. Similar thing happened with Hateful 8 tbqh Plebs can't into non-formulaic