To celebrate Rob's massive promotion, his lover, Beth, and friends, decide to throw a massive surprise farewell party, now that he is about to move to Japan. However, a deafening explosion and the arrival of an enormous scaly and gangly creature will abruptly interrupt the festivities, as all hell breaks loose in New York City, and the Statue of Liberty is decapitated. As the reptilian behemoth levels Manhattan, a daring dash to rescue Beth begins, while at the same time, everything is recorded through the lens of a hand-held camcorder, amid mayhem and destruction. In the end, where did this relentless invader come from, and above all, is there a chance of survival? As they go to investigate, an adventure deep into the streets of New York begins, as the friends are determined to rescue Rob's true love.Written by
Nick Riganas
One of J.J. Abrams's ideas during filming was for Matt Reeves to take an extremely small crew to New York City and shoot guerrilla style on the streets. Abrams and Reeves felt that if enough was filmed there, the audience wouldn't question the moments where green screen backgrounds are incorporated. They initially planned to shoot as much as they could on actual New York City streets over the course of two days, but the producers worked it out to give them a full week. Most of the key scenes, particularly those featuring New York landmarks, have some footage incorporated that was actually shot on location. Reeves found that one of the benefits in the non-traditional way the film was shot was that only one angle had to be used for any given sequence. They didn't have to use multiple set-ups for one scene. Instead, the challenge was in the choreography of the scenes and figuring out the logistics of where to cut during oners. See more »
Goofs
From the time Hud first spots the monster in the helicopter to the time the helicopter crashes is less than a minute, yet the time changes from night to sunrise. However, the military man that told them of the helicopter told them that the last helicopters would be in the air by 6:00 am. The time from the crash to the time when the camera restarted recording is unknown, but it is possible that the sun began rising at that point. Even their visibility in the helicopter was getting much better and looked like the early dawn. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Rob Hawkins:
It's 6:42 AM. Beth's dad's place. He's out of town. And it's already a good day.
See more »
Crazy Credits
During the Paramount and Bad Robot logos, ambiance can be heard faintly in the background. See more »
Alternate Versions
In India, the film was edited to achieve a parental guidance rating for television broadcast. See more »
I can remember back months before this movie came out, watching the teaser trailer for this film for the first time. The sense of foreboding and mystery I felt watching the trailer was the same as when I watched the film in the theater. It is an excellently-made movie.
Although it starts off a little slow (with introducing the characters and their relationships), when the action kicks in, it doesn't stop. There are maybe 6-7 minutes where there is not some kind of thrilling event happening. The relationship between the characters Rob and Beth is palpable, as is the chemistry between all the actors.
Pros: -Many thrills -Surprisingly good acting for a 'no-name' cast -Great story -Convincing special effects
Cons: -The shaky camera may be nauseating to some people -The acting in some scenes could be a little better -If you are someone who likes for all the loose ends to be tied up at the end, this is not for you
Overall, I give this movie 8 out of 10 stars. I love it, and it is in my top 10 favorite movies. It always will be. I highly recommend watching this on a large screen, with the sound turned up loud for maximum enjoyment.
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I can remember back months before this movie came out, watching the teaser trailer for this film for the first time. The sense of foreboding and mystery I felt watching the trailer was the same as when I watched the film in the theater. It is an excellently-made movie.
Although it starts off a little slow (with introducing the characters and their relationships), when the action kicks in, it doesn't stop. There are maybe 6-7 minutes where there is not some kind of thrilling event happening. The relationship between the characters Rob and Beth is palpable, as is the chemistry between all the actors.
Pros: -Many thrills -Surprisingly good acting for a 'no-name' cast -Great story -Convincing special effects
Cons: -The shaky camera may be nauseating to some people -The acting in some scenes could be a little better -If you are someone who likes for all the loose ends to be tied up at the end, this is not for you
Overall, I give this movie 8 out of 10 stars. I love it, and it is in my top 10 favorite movies. It always will be. I highly recommend watching this on a large screen, with the sound turned up loud for maximum enjoyment.