News, Etc.

Cloverfield Monster Revealed!

Oh wait, we already know what the Cloverfield monster looks like. However, Hasbro is finally selling their action figure of the beast. That there’s the picture of it from their website.

How much would you expect to pay for something like that? A hundred bucks? Well, you’d be wrong! That thing goes for $99.99 retail. And you get:

* 70 points of articulation and incredible life-like detail
* Authentic sound
* 14” tall
* 10 parasites
* Two interchangeable heads
* Statue of Liberty head accessory
* Special Cloverfield collector’s edition packaging

I like that you get the Statue of Liberty head that you can chuck at your sister’s Barbies, then have the Cloverfield monster eat them.

Now, I saw the film and basically already knew what this thing looked like, but seeing it standing still like that, I find something puzzling. Ok, I found a lot of Cloverfield puzzling, but still… Anyway, the story goes that J.J. Abrams was in a Japanese toy store, saw all the Godzilla action figures and wanted to make a cool American giant monster movie.

But one of the reasons for Godzilla’s enduring popularity is that he’s so distinctive and cool looking. That’s a giant monster with a great personality when you see him. This Cloverfield thing — in addition to not having a neat name like Godzilla or Gojira — is kind of generic looking. I mean, I liked the monster in the movie. It looked scary when it was going after the actors. But there’s really nothing memorable looking about it. The only good thing: It looks better than the faux Godzilla in that godawful American remake.

Finally, in other toy news, Toy Fair starts in Manhattan this Sunday, so expect to see lots of licensed toy pictures based on Indiana Jones, The Dark Knight, Hulk, Speed Racer, Iron Man, WALL*E, etc. next week.

© 2008 Cinema Snark.