-tightly directed and written... up to a certain point. Then it descends into a by-the-numbers disaster film and loses its best narrative threads and thematic motifs, choosing instead a bland recreation of early Spielberg, seemingly throwing away everything it was building up to... in favour of razzle-dazzle that ultimately rings false and hollow.
-sets up the importance of their tape... for no apparent reason at all. Deals with notions of nostalgia, Bazinian notions of memory and preservation, until the monster shows up and we're assaulted with the Big Set Piece.
-he actually slaps Alice and then declares that he must rescue her: this isn't nostalgia, it's disgusting! I thought we moved on from the damsel-in-distress year ago. (Pfft, who am I kidding?)
-monster is all high-concept, and deflates as the film progresses. Genuinely gripping moments until it is fully revealed, as a psychic-subterranean-fussy-E.T. creature with simply Too Much.
-interesting use of paranoiac anti-government conspiracy theory, bordering on satirical.
-what happens to Charles? He's literally left behind, and he was actually interesting -- just like the tape. Setting something up with no satisfying pay-off.
I just watched this on Sunday! Agree with you on all points. I found it funny that the kids wanted to get a shot with "high-production value" with the train rushing by, yet the loud train clearly ruined that shot. A lot like how all the high production value shots of this movie took away from the real acting potential in the finale.
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