The Cloverfield Paradox

You may have noticed that I was a little "quiet" in January. 

For good reason really. I've found myself challenged to be inspired by much of the current cinema lineup this year and it's becoming harder and harder for me to make time for the bad/average/forgettable films that don't interest me just for the sake of having a "Worst of the Year" Award come December. 

That changed very quickly during last night's Super Bowl when the secretive/consistently-rescheduled third Cloverfield film was not only announced, but released. The preview tied in heavily to the original and this was labeled as a direct prequel so instantly I was excited. 

Don't get me wrong, I appreciated 10 Cloverfield Lane for what it was, but I'm also still disappointed by it's barely-there connection to the first. Personally, as a huge fan of the first film and all its monster-terrorizing greatness, it's hard for me to forgive the fact that Lane felt like a movie that didn't quite have an ending so they tied it back to this universe. But I digress....

The marketing for these films alone is an exciting experiment in secrets, surprises, and flash-releases. For Lane I specifically remember sitting in a January theater, having no idea what was coming, and being blown away by a surprise trailer. Even more so by the fact that the film was less than 60 days away. Similar story for this one where no one was really sure when it was supposed to release other than the fact that it had been made. And with about 90-120 seconds of Super Bowl ad time, Netflix got people talking and excited, and ultimately headed straight to their app once the game was done. I immediately rearranged my night/morning routine in order to accommodate this pleasant surprise hoping that we'd learn how the monster in New York came to be. 

Given the nature of its release, stills are sparse for this one. Apologies.

"I swear there's a connection! I SWEAR!"

I won't say it was for naught -- The Cloverfield Paradox is a semi entertaining thriller that does, I guess, give us some answers -- but I'm starting to see a trend of why/how "Cloverfield" gets slapped on a film title. Maybe I'm wrong, but even Paradox, to varying degrees, feels like a film that was created elsewhere, lacked a cohesive ending and/or reason to exist and garnered a "Cloverfield" sticker and some extra scenes to make it immediately more marketable. Even once the film is said and done, its connections and explanations back to the original (and kinda, sorta Lane) feel like thin strings at best. Maybe I'm confused exactly with what I want? Maybe I just want to see another monster film in a city? Perhaps...but I don't think so. J.J. Abrams is producer on these films and he's also the same man responsible for the grandiose and constant mystery that enshrouded LOST. I don't get that same sense of wonder or excitement with these films (outside of the marketing). 

As for the movie itself? It's a mixed bag. I'm probably coming off a little disappointment from the "answers" that are given but it's an okay little thriller that could/should be a tiny bit shorter -- it felt longer than its runtime -- and in dealing with space, time travel, etc. it can't hold a candle to Interstellar, though maybe that's an unfair comparison. The cast is good enough, though I never felt invested in any of them except the main character and the thrills are surprisingly on the verge of R-rated. Once you strip away any connection to "Cloverfield" however, this immediately becomes a lesser film in the regard that it feels like you've seen it before, save a few interstellar moments. It reminded me a lot of last year's Life in that it's totally watchable, but forgettable because of all the boxes and cliches it feels like it checks off. As the movie goes on, it gets noticeably weaker in this regard, veering from feeling like a wholly original, exciting film to one with some wild ambitions, to one that is just trying to plod through it's remaining characters/plot in order to get to some big moment. There are moments of intense weirdness, some of which feel original (a missing arm for example) while others are ripped straight from other, better films (something inside someone for example). 

That's Matt Damon's arm in a surprise cameo! (it isn't)

And ultimately...that connection to Cloverfield? It feels half-assed. In a way it makes some sense, but only when you don't begin trying to understand the intricacies of it. I actually liked the path they were taking to explain the monster, but the film is so focused on this crew and their dilemma that, again, everything related to the first film feels like a tacked-on after thought. It could have been really interesting if they had decided to dedicate time to a deeper explanation or visual of what happened, but instead we get an annoying narrow view of a story that, if I'm being perfectly honest, I cared a lot less about. 

With these Cloverfield films, we're entering "Fool-me-once" territory. I still applaud them greatly for their marketing as it's genius. In a day and age where secrets are nearly impossible to keep, at least around this stuff, it's exciting when you're watching the big game to be totally taken off guard by a "direct" prequel to a fantastic film. So it's unfortunate again that we get a film that barely connects back, save for a few scenes, and is rather unspecial if you strip away everything "Cloverfield". The intense, riveting memories of that first film are long in the past now and I'm beginning to realize that whenever I see Cloverfield in the title of something again, I should temper my expectations and quest for answers. 

CONS

• Decreases in quality as it moves along and really slogs by the end
• Feels like it's trying to "check-boxes" when it comes to the contained space horror genre
• The connection/explanation for the original Cloverfield is a thin string at best and once again feels like they forced the added title onto a film that didn't know what it was
• Feels longer than its runtime
• It's not a Tide ad :-) (wonder how long this joke will stay relevant?)
• I struggled to care or build connection with the plot or characters

PROS

• Starts off strong and the "explanation" for the monsters, while we're only given the broad strokes, is exciting
• Hosts a few intense scenes of space mayhem, some of which feel original and unique
• Surprisingly good original score
• I'd be remiss if I didn't give credit to the once-again exciting marketing!

Rath's Review Score | 6/10