History Headscratchers / Cloverfield

** Well, the US military does have a plan in place in case of ZombieApocalypse (http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/16/politics/pentagon-zombie-apocalypse/). Granted, this is more a thought experiment to teach military officers to think outside the box, to learn to deal with OutsideContextProblems, but it is there. It may well be that the US government in the Cloverfield verse (and potentially, our 'verse as well) is CrazyPrepared.

*** That, and civillians seeing their friend explode like a [[{{Film/Alien}} chestburster]] is definitely gonna be dangerous. Judging by the actions of the hazmat team, they've dealt with this before. If Marlena did explode like that, either it was a [[Mercy Kill]], or the parasite's bites are similar to the xenomorphs of Alien. No one wants one of those things running around the quarantine area.

*** That, and civillians seeing their friend explode like a [[Alien chestburster]] is definitely gonna be dangerous. Judging by the actions of the hazmat team, they've dealt with this before. If Marlena did explode like that, either it was a [[Mercy Kill]], or the parasite's bites are similar to the xenomorphs of Alien. No one wants one of those things running around the quarantine area.

* Most of these Just Bugs Me bug me. It is so difficult to accept that normal, ordinary people - people who only a few hours ago considered one of their friends having sex with another to be the most earth-shattering thing in existence - would make less-than-intelligent decisions? Hell, real life disasters provide innumerable examples of how an unexpected situation, lack of training and/or preparation and constant danger result in people doing incredibly stupid things and often getting themselves killed as a result.
** There are understandable foolish choices, and then outright stupid choices. For example, going into the heart of the disaster area to find your injured girlfriend is incredibly unwise, and yet totally understandable. Not trying to arm yourself with a weapon after nearly being ''horribly mauled'' by giant creatures is stupid. Making these judgements might be because the audience have never been in that sort of situation and therefore don't get it, or maybe because they really are foolhardy.
** Also, I don't think the military counts as "normal, ordinary people" when they're supposed to be trained for stressful, dangerous situations.
*** Yeah, everyone knows that the entire second week of Basic is dedicated to covering giant monster attacks.
**** So now soldiers and professionals have to be trained specifically for each and every scenarios and disasters in order to be able to not behave stupidly? I hope that the drill sergeants are imaginative enough to cover everything that can possibly come up. I hope that doctor trainers are imaginative enough to come up with EVERY SINGLE DISEASE EVER!!! so that they do not do something idiotic (like overdose me with morphine, or inject air into my veins) when I come to hospitals with a disease never seen before. Soldiers being trained to operate under stressful and dangerous situations should have a cool enough head during those situations and not make stupid mistakes. Sorry, when you are supposed to be trained to make decisions that result in life or death (soldiers are supposed to be able to save people in this case) there is very little tolerance for stupidity before you are criminally negligent.
*** Well when you join the army and are deployed to a giant monster attack I'm sure you'll be just as perfectly rational and intelligent as you are when you're sitting on the couch at home and will show us all how really intelligent people handle the situation. Until then, consider calming down.
**** First of all, aren't commanders and those responsible for organising military operations far away from the frontline possible nowadays? Secondly, as I said, when you are a professional trained to deal with situations that result in life or death there's very little tolerance for mistakes. [[http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-basics-29855.html ER surgeons doctors can be sued for criminal negligence in real life when they make mistakes, even when they are under extreme stress]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_government_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina Entire governments get criticised for inadequate rescue efforts in disasters]]. [[http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/cases/Capital--and--Counties-v-Hampshire-County-Council.php Fire brigades can get found liable for negligence when they do something stupid like turning off the sprinklers]]. [[http://www.jta.org/1993/09/15/archive/3-idf-officers-to-be-court-martialed-for-negligence-in-training-accident Military officers get court martialed for negligence of duty when they get people killed ''during training'']]. ''THAT'' is is the standard people hold for professionals trained for real life and death situations and ow much people and courts tolerate mistakes when people's lives are in danger. "It is a stressful situation" is never an excuse for a professional to not to do their job properly when the said professional is ''trained'' for such situations. Only those who live in another world or are entirely irresponsible will say otherwise. Not to mention having the idea "if the situation is stressful, professionals responsible for people's lives are allowed to panic and make stupid mistakes" running around is scary. I would not want to be treated by a paramedic who believes that when I'm in a car accident.

* It bugs me that the movie makes sense if you don't read or view any of the supplemental material. But as soon as you get into Slusho and Japanese corporations, and sea critters, it all falls apart. Why not just let it stand?
** Because the creators of the film wanted the audience to be in the same situation as the characters. The wanted us to relate to them. In other words, they wanted us to have absolutely no ****ing idea what this thing was, where it came from, and why it was in New York. They wanted us to feel like we were at the going away party right with Rob and CO. when **** hit the fan.
*** They accomplished that at the beginning, though, when there was absolutely no background material. However, once you do start looking into the background material, it stops making any sort of comprehensible sense at all. When all you can do is guess at the monster's nature and origins the movie works. When it's said to be a deep-sea baby monster that fed off of algae, it becomes ridiculous.
**** More or less ridiculous than [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} a somehow-still-living species of carnosaur who gained monster status from an atomic bomb]]?
***** More. Godzilla never attempted to play things realistically. The original Godzilla was basically just a walking metaphor for the dangers of nuclear weapons. Then when stuff started being expanded it became a whole world full of unrealistic stuff: mutant powers, psychics, magic (mostly Mothra), aliens and sci-fi technology. Cloverfield tries to act like its set in a more realistic setting and we are meant to sympathize with the characters as none of us know anything. But then they trickle out "could be" and "this is what we thought" type stuff and things start to make less and less sense. Most of the ARG stuff just over complicates this even further and Kishin literally just makes it an incoherent mess. Things would honestly work better if we were told that Kishin was just an attempt to sell Cloverfield to the Japanese by making it a full blown Kaiju and less of a thriller.

* Is the manga ''ever'' going to be released in the US as anything other than a Godawful scanlation?

* It bugs me that the movie let way too many things go unanswered and then (depending on who you talk to) either [[WordOfGod tried to use the ARG and interviews to fill in the gaps after the fact;]] or [[GodNeverSaidThat didn't,]] and they were well and truly [[AssPull yanking plot points out of their rectums.]] I get what they were trying to do; I know that your average person in that kind of survival situation wouldn't have access to those answers. But it seems like they took the "We don't have to explain ourselves lulz" excuse and ran with it, to the point where ''nothing'' makes sense and the plot is impenetrable simply for the sake of being impenetrable. Hell, the whole thing smacks of either ViewersAreMorons or AssPull; remember what a big deal JJ made out of the fact that the title was only a placeholder and that he'd be releasing the ''real'' title any day now, only to reveal that they decided to stick with Cloverfield because "the fans already know it by that name and we don't want to confuse them"? Bullshit, Mr. Abrams. Either you think so little of your fans that you don't trust them to know the difference, or you never thought of anything better and you were trying to covering your ass [[{{Lost}} (not that that would be without precedent).]]
** This Troper is inclined to agree. The movie was a pretty entertaining monster flick, until I started to delve into the background. Now it's just incomprehensible and a bit of a joke.
** So basically, the film version of Lost.

* If, according to WordOfGod, the monster actually is dead, then what was even the point of putting the whole [[spoiler: "It's Still Alive"]] clip at the end of the credits? [[Darthwiki/WallBanger Way to shoot yourself in the foot there, Abrams.]]

<<|ItJustBugsMe|>>

**** First of all, aren't commanders and those responsible for organising military operations far away from the frontline possible nowadays? Secondly, as I said, when you are a professional trained to deal with situations that result in life or death there's very little tolerance for mistakes. [[http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-basics-29855.html ER surgeons doctors can be sued for criminal negligence in real life when they make mistakes, even when they are under extreme stress]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_government_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina Entire governments get criticised for inadequate rescue efforts in disasters]]. [[http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/cases/Capital--and--Counties-v-Hampshire-County-Council.php Fire brigades can get found liable for negligence when they do something stupid like turning off the sprinklers]]. [[http://www.jta.org/1993/09/15/archive/3-idf-officers-to-be-court-martialed-for-negligence-in-training-accident Military officers get court martialed for negligence of duty when they get people killed ''during training'']]. ''THAT'' is how much people and courts tolerate mistakes made by rescuers who are supposed to be professional. "It is a stressful situation" is never an excuse for a professional to not to do their job properly when the said professional is ''trained'' for such situations. Only those who live in another world or are entirely irresponsible will say otherwise. Not to mention having the idea "if the situation is stressful, professionals responsible for people's lives are allowed to panic and make stupid mistakes" running around is scary. I would not want to be treated by a paramedic who believes that when I'm in a car accident.

**** First of all, aren't commanders and those responsible for organising military operations far away from the frontline possible nowadays? Secondly, as I said, when you are a professional trained to deal with situations that result in life or death there's very little tolerance for mistakes. [[http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-basics-29855.html ER surgeons doctors can be sued for criminal negligence in real life when they make mistakes, even when they are under extreme stress]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_government_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina Entire governments get criticised for inadequate rescue efforts in disasters]]. [[http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/cases/Capital--and--Counties-v-Hampshire-County-Council.php Fire brigades can get found liable for negligence when they do something stupid like turning off the sprinklers]]. [[http://www.jta.org/1993/09/15/archive/3-idf-officers-to-be-court-martialed-for-negligence-in-training-accident Military officers get court martialed for negligence of duty when they get people killed ''during training'']]. ''THAT'' is how much people and courts tolerate mistakes made by rescuers who are supposed to be professional. "It is a stressful situation" is never an excuse for a professional to not to do their job properly when the said professional is ''trained'' for such situations. Only those who live in another world or are entirely irresponsible will say otherwise.

**** First of all, aren't commanders and those responsible for organising military operations far away from the frontline possible nowadays? Secondly, as I said, when you are a professional trained to deal with situations that result in life or death there's very little tolerance for mistakes. [[http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-basics-29855.html ER surgeons doctors can be sued for criminal negligence in real life when they make mistakes, even when they are under extreme stress]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_government_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina Entire governments get criticised for inadequate rescue efforts in disasters]]. [[http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/cases/Capital--and--Counties-v-Hampshire-County-Council.php Fire brigades can get found liable for negligence when they do something stupid like turning off the sprinklers]]. [[http://tribune.com.pk/story/382354/one-year-on-three-navy-officials-court-martialled-for-negligence/ Military officers get court martialed for negligence of duty]]. ''THAT'' is how much people and courts tolerate mistakes made by rescuers who are supposed to be professional. "It is a stressful situation" is never an excuse for a professional to not to do their job properly when the said professional is ''trained'' for such situations. Only those who live in another world or are entirely irresponsible will say otherwise.

**** First of all, aren't commanders and those responsible for organising military operations far away from the frontline possible nowadays? Secondly, as I said, when you are a professional trained to deal with situations that result in life or death there's very little tolerance for mistakes. [[http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-basics-29855.html ER surgeons doctors can be sued for criminal negligence in real life when they make mistakes, even when they are under extreme stress]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_government_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina Entire governments get criticised for inadequate rescue efforts in disasters]]. [[http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/cases/Capital--and--Counties-v-Hampshire-County-Council.php Fire brigades can get found liable for negligence when they do something stupid like turning off the sprinklers]]. ''THAT'' is how much people and courts tolerate mistakes made by rescuers who are supposed to be professional. "It is a stressful situation" is never an excuse for a professional to not to do their job properly when the said professional is ''trained'' for such situations. Only those who live in another world or are entirely irresponsible will say otherwise.

**** First of all, aren't commanders and those responsible for organising military operations far away from the frontline possible nowadays? Secondly, as I said, when you are a professional trained to deal with situations that result in life or death there's very little tolerance for mistakes. [[http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-basics-29855.html ER surgeons doctors can be sued for criminal negligence in real life when they make mistakes, even when they are under extreme stress]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_government_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina Entire governments get criticised for inadequate rescue efforts in disasters]]. [[http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/cases/Capital--and--Counties-v-Hampshire-County-Council.php Fire brigades can get found liable for negligence when they do something stupid like turning off the sprinklers]]. Sorry, "it is a stressful situation and therefore it is expected for professionals to fail" is said by someone who has no idea what "professional" means.

**** First of all, aren't commanders and those responsible for organising military operations far away from the frontline possible nowadays? Secondly, as I said, when you are a professional trained to deal with situations that result in life or death there's very little tolerance for mistakes. [[http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-basics-29855.html ER surgeons doctors can be sued for criminal negligence in real life when they make mistakes, even when they are under extreme stress]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_government_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina Entire governments get criticised for inadequate rescue efforts in disasters]]. [[http://www.lawteacher.net/tort-law/cases/negligence-public-policy-cases.php Fire brigades gets found liable for negligence when they do something stupid]]. Sorry, "it is a stressful situation and therefore it is expected for professionals to fail" is said by someone who has no idea what "professional" means.

**** First of all, aren't commanders and those responsible for organising military operations far away from the frontline possible nowadays? Secondly, as I said, when you are a professional trained to deal with situations that result in life or death there's very little tolerance for mistakes. [[http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-basics-29855.html ER surgeons doctors can be sued for criminal negligence in real life when they make mistakes, even when they are under extreme stress]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_government_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina Entire governments get criticised for inadequate rescue efforts in disasters]]. Sorry, "it is a stressful situation and therefore it is expected for professionals to fail" is something that people who are either irresponsible or never take up any responsibility in their life says.

**** First of all, aren't commanders and those responsible for organising military operations far away from the frontline possible nowadays? Secondly, as I said, when you are a professional trained to deal with situations that result in life or death there's very little tolerance for mistakes. [[http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-basics-29855.html ER surgeons doctors can be sued for criminal negligence in real life when they make mistakes, even when they are under extreme stress]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_government_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina Entire governments get criticised for inadequate rescue efforts in disasters]]. Sorry, "it is a stressful situation and therefore it is expected for professionals to fail" is something that people who are irresponsible says.

**** First of all, aren't commanders and those responsible for organising military operations far away from the frontline possible nowadays? Secondly, as I said, when you are a professional trained to deal with situations that result in life or death there's very little tolerance for mistakes. [[http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-basics-29855.html ER surgeons doctors can be sued for criminal negligence in real life when they make mistakes, even when they are under extreme stress]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_government_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina Entire governments get criticised for inadequate rescue efforts in disasters]]. Sorry, but saying that "it is a stressful situation and therefore it is expected for professionals to fail" is shirking responsibilities.

<<|ItJustBugsMe|>>

**** So now soldiers and professionals have to be trained specifically for each and every scenarios and disasters in order to be able to not behave stupidly? I hope that the drill sergeants are imaginative enough to cover everything that can possibly come up. I hope that doctor trainers are imaginative enough to come up with EVERY SINGLE DISEASE EVER!!! so that they do not do something idiotic (like overdose me with morphine, or inject air into my veins) when I come to hospitals with a disease never seen before. Soldiers being trained to operate under stressful and dangerous situations should have a cool enough head during those situations and not make stupid mistakes. If your soldiers are going to just panic and do something stupid when something they are not specific trained for comes up they are not very good soldiers and will ''lose battles and wars''.

**** So now soldiers and professionals have to be trained specifically for each and every scenarios and disasters in order to be able to not behave stupidly? I hope that the drill sergeants are imaginative enough to cover everything that can possibly come up. I hope that doctor trainers are imaginative enough to come up with EVERY SINGLE DISEASE EVER!!! so that they do not do something idiotic (like overdose me with morphine, or inject air into my veins) when I come to hospitals with a disease never seen before. Soldiers being trained to operate under stressful and dangerous situations should have a cool enough head during those situations and not make stupid mistakes. There's something called "criminal negligence". Look it up.

**** So now soldiers and professionals have to be trained specifically for each and every scenarios and disasters in order to be able to not behave stupidly? I hope that the drill sergeants are imaginative enough to cover everything that can possibly come up. I hope that doctor trainers are imaginative enough to come up with EVERY SINGLE DISEASE EVER!!! so that they do not do something idiotic (like overdose me with morphine, or inject air into my veins) when I come to hospitals with a disease never seen before. Soldiers being trained to operate under stressful and dangerous situations should have a cool enough head during those situations and not make stupid mistakes. I guess the words "criminal negligence" doesn't exist in your mind, huh?

**** So now soldiers and professionals have to be trained specifically for each and every scenarios and disasters in order to be able to not behave stupidly? I hope that the drill sergeants are imaginative enough to cover everything that can possibly come up. I hope that doctor trainers are imaginative enough to come up with EVERY SINGLE DISEASE EVER!!! so that they do not do something idiotic when I come to hospitals with a disease never seen before. There's something called "common sense", and soldiers being trained to operate under stressful and dangerous situations should have a cool enough head during those situations and not make stupid mistakes. I guess the words "criminal negligence" doesn't exist in your mind, huh?

**** So now soldiers and professionals have to be trained specifically for each and every scenarios and disasters in order to be able to not behave stupidly? I hope that the drill sergeants are imaginative enough to cover everything that can possibly come up I hope that doctor trainers are imaginative enough to come up with EVERY SINGLE DISEASE EVER!!! so that they do not do something idiotic when I come to hospitals with a disease never seen before. There's something called "common sense", and soldiers being trained to operate under stressful and dangerous situations should have a cool enough head during those situations and not make stupid mistakes.