Unsophisticated and full of plot holes. Its appeal relied more on special effects than on anything else.
There are two classic types of stories:
- Plot Driven: Typified by the "Slasher" genre, wherein a group of people must be murdered one-by-one until the last person confronts the threat and eliminates it for ever ... or do they?
- Character Driven: People with goals, methods, and motivations move the story along a treacherous course to the final climactic scene. Then everybody lives happily ever after.
Now a third story type has been added:
- Effects Driven: Explosions, sweeping vistas, car chases, explosions, gunfights, dizzying heights, explosions, floods, blizzards ... did I mention explosions? Characters are one-dimensional, dialogue is stilted and mechanical, and the situation itself strains credibility to the limit. Welcome to The Day After Tomorrw, Cloverfield, Independence Day, et cetera et ad nauseum.