The Cloverfield Paradox

Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Daniel Bruhl, John Ortiz, Chris O'Dowd, Aksel Hennie, Ziyi Zhang, Elizabeth Debicki, Donal Logue, Simon Pegg (voice), Greg Grunberg (voice)
Directed by: Julius Onah
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Scientists in space attempt a risky experiment to solve the energy crisis back on Earth.

Review:

Tim: What a roller coaster The Cloverfield Paradox took us on. And I don't mean the story. I mean the movie itself. It was shockingly announced the day before it was released on Netflix- that just doesn't happen. That initial surprise was wonderful- there's a third Cloverfield film being released, and you can watch it for free, tomorrow. That was the high. The low started almost immediately as the terrible reviews poured in. Watching it myself, I liked it better than most critics, but it's still a disappointing movie. It started to make sense why a deal was struck with Netflix- it was better that this film not see a theatrical release.

And yet, while not a good movie, it was still fun to get a third entry in one of the most unexpected franchises in recent memory. What exactly is it? Is it truly a franchise or just a series of films? How much are they connected? What exactly makes something a "Cloverfield" movie? The mystery and lack of answers makes these movies interesting. This film has many flaws, but it does offer us another piece of the puzzle and I very much appreciated that.

I actually found the story fairly fascinating. A group of scientists trying to solve the energy crisis undertake a dangerous effort to get a particle accelerator to work. The device rips open another dimension, where our heroes find themselves stuck. A series of bizarre and impossible events takes place in this alternate dimension. These insane events aren't fully explained from a scientific standpoint, but they do offer some uncomfortable sci-fi horror moments. Whether that's someone who inexplicably has worms inside his body, or an appendage which is cleanly cut off, these moments may be a bit far-fetched but they certainly provide the story with some crazy, memorable moments. The biggest problem is that despite these cool visuals, the story itself is fairly weak. There are decent moments, but the story itself is never more than average. Watching the film, there was enough there that you wanted to like it, you wanted it to entertain you, but the flaws were simply too visible and too overwhelming.

The cast was decent for a lower tier movie like this. Gugu Mbatha-Raw gives a strong performance, perhaps the best of the film. David Oyelowo was good, but he felt underutilized to me. I really like him, but he just didn't make the impact on the film he should have. Daniel Bruhl added a solid performance and Chris O'Dowd adds some great comedic lightness to the film. Ziyi Zhang was great to see, as was Elizabeth Debicki. I actually thought everyone gave solid performances, but their talent wasn't A-list. The movie needed at least one stronger actor to carry the film.

While I liked The Cloverfield Paradox more than most critics, I have to say I was disappointed in the end result. It now creates a troubling pattern for these movies. The original Cloverfield was the best of the bunch- a great movie in its own right. 10 Cloverfield Lane was a surprisingly good, memorable movie, but clearly a step down from the first film. A really effective movie, but not a great one. The Cloverfield Paradox represents an even bigger drop in quality- you really can't argue that this is a good movie at all. That's very disappointing. The potential of this franchise took a hit with this film. The danger is that the franchise either continues to drop or plateaus at this level. We really need a fourth film and it needs to reverse this declining trend.

So, while I'll always gleefully remember the utter surprise of getting a new Cloverfield movie a day later, I'll also remember the disappointment of the movie not getting close to living up to expectations.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Cloverfield, 10 Cloverfield Lane