Can we talk about how awesome this movie was? Can we do it without spoilers?
1) John Goodman's performance is SO GOOD! His lends his character an amazing amount of complexity and subtlety that keeps you guessing his intensions and good/bad/innocent/scary alignment all the way through to the end.
2) If you saw the trailer, you've only seen clips from the first 20-30 minutes. After that, everything is a surprise, and it is absolutely glorious how little the trailer gives away. All the trailer did was show you the three characters and the setting. That's it.
3) The plot kept me guessing. Part of that was the awesome, nuanced performances from the actors, but a lot of it was from the clever writing and edge-of-your-seat suspense directing. Just when you think you've got some plot or character motivations figured out, BAM! The script throws a completely justified and curveball at you.
4) Set up and payoff. A lot of those curveballs work because the movie shows you all the major elements throughout the film and then utilizes them later. Set up and payoff.
5) The main character is a woman in a survival/horror situation, and she's actually smart and makes a lot of smart decisions. She actually asks a lot of the right questions and actively tries to get herself out of bad situations. She's a strong, independent woman who don't need no man.
6) And sometimes she fails! She tries something and kind of succeeds only to have her plan foiled. And her plan doesn't fail because antagonists are actually screenwriters. She fails because some of her schemes are short-sighted; good ideas in the moment but ones that just didn't pan out.
7) The whole movie has this kind of give and take. Tensions, relief, tension. Scary, intense, funny, rest. The audience reactions were really interesting to watch. After particularly intense sequences, the audience seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief. You could tell we were all engrossed in the story; we cared about these characters and were all trying to figure out what was going to happen next. And at one of the curves, the man a couple rows in front of me actually jumped out of his seat (like into a standing position) and shouted "OH DAMN!" And none of us was angry or bothered by this, because we were all thinking it. It was an astounding collective viewing experience. When the credits rolled, you could tell everyone walked away impressed.
8) Scale: It's three people in a bunker. There are things happening outside that make for a certain level of suspense and intrigue, but, for the most part, it's a very intimate, character-driven film. It's very contained (literally). You don't need to see Cloverfield to understand or appreciate anything going on in this film. It stands alone in the best way possible. . .
9) And yet, it leaves itself open for a sequel I would actually kind of like to see! I don't know if it would happen, but I would love to see a follow-up where [a certain character] has grown into this kick-ass Mad Max kind of hero, traveling the wastes, fighting monsters and baddies. I genuinely cared about the characters by the end and was kind of cheering for them (which I don't often get drawn in enough to do).
10) I love how much [this character] grows as a person by the end of the film. You're on this rollercoaster, and, just when you think it's over, it goes off the rails in the best way possible. It somehow manages to both be extremely satisfying and leave you wanting more.
Action, plot, characters, mystery, intrigue, excitement, humor, suspense: 10 Cloverfield Lane has it all.
