The Cloverfield Paradox
2.5/4
Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Daniel Bruhl, Chris O'Dowd, Zhang Ziyi, John Ortiz, Aksel Hennie, Elizabeth Debecki
Not Rated (Probable R for Sci-Fi Violence and Gore, and for Brief Language)
In 2008, producer J.J. Abrams and director Matt Reeves unleashed "Cloverfield," a found-footage monster movie, onto the world. It was a smash hit, garnering $170 million against a $25 million budget. Rumors of a sequel swirled almost immediately, but the next installment didn't come out until 2016 with a little film called "10 Cloverfield Lane," which also did very well. Now in 2018, we have "The Cloverfield Paradox," which is just as tenuously connected to the 2008 thriller as the one that came out two years ago. Never mind. These are stand-alone films (actually, both were original screenplays that were slightly altered to fit in as a sequel), and should be judged as such. "10 Cloverfield Lane" killed any point in seeing it by giving away the ending in the title. This new installment doesn't do anything that egregious, but it still comes across as a rip-off of "Life" from last year.
Earth's resources are quickly disappearing. Humanity is on the brink of extinction, and unless a team of scientists can power a particle accelerator named Shepard, Earth will become a barren rock. They're a multi-national team composed of Ava Hamilton (Mbatha-Raw), Kiel (Oyelewo), Schmidt (Bruhl), Monk (Ortiz), Mundy (O'Dowd), Volkov (Hennie) and Tam (Ziyi). Tensions are running high as time flies by and the number of possible attempts to get Shepard working decreases. Finally, the team succeeds, but it carries a heavy price. Strange things are going on, from loud noises to a woman named Jensen (Debecki) found in the wall). Oh, and Earth has disappeared.
"The Cloverfield Paradox" is all climax. It never stops. This may seem like a good thing, but actually it's not. There's so much noise and action that there's little room for the plot or the characters to gain any traction. What tension there is exists because director Julius Onah is able to assemble action scenes with skill. But the pacing is so frantic that it's hard to get truly invested.
One really smart move on the part of the filmmakers is to fill the cast with some of the best up-and-coming character actors in the business. Just look at who's in this movie: Gugu Mbatha-Raw from the criminally underrated "Miss Sloane," David Oyelowo from the overrated "Selma," should-have-gotten-an-Oscar-nod Daniel Bruhl, "Bridesmaids" hunk Chris O'Dowd, and Chinese superstar Zhang Ziyi (the girl from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" for anyone who doesn't know). All do what they can, not that they're given much to do. Ziyi is in particular short-changed, having almost nothing to do but be Ms. Plot Exposition. There's also the odd choice where she only speaks Chinese and others speak it to her, but I'll let that slide.
Netflix and Bad Robot have released this film in a way that could charitably be called "a vote of no confidence." Releasing the trailer with no previous advertising (and I mean none) on the same day they released the film is a decision that is only reserved for movies that studios don't want to admit they had a part of. In all honesty, "The Cloverfield Paradox" isn't that bad. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy myself at times, but it's too sloppily made for me to recommend outright.
Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Daniel Bruhl, Chris O'Dowd, Zhang Ziyi, John Ortiz, Aksel Hennie, Elizabeth Debecki
Not Rated (Probable R for Sci-Fi Violence and Gore, and for Brief Language)
In 2008, producer J.J. Abrams and director Matt Reeves unleashed "Cloverfield," a found-footage monster movie, onto the world. It was a smash hit, garnering $170 million against a $25 million budget. Rumors of a sequel swirled almost immediately, but the next installment didn't come out until 2016 with a little film called "10 Cloverfield Lane," which also did very well. Now in 2018, we have "The Cloverfield Paradox," which is just as tenuously connected to the 2008 thriller as the one that came out two years ago. Never mind. These are stand-alone films (actually, both were original screenplays that were slightly altered to fit in as a sequel), and should be judged as such. "10 Cloverfield Lane" killed any point in seeing it by giving away the ending in the title. This new installment doesn't do anything that egregious, but it still comes across as a rip-off of "Life" from last year.
Earth's resources are quickly disappearing. Humanity is on the brink of extinction, and unless a team of scientists can power a particle accelerator named Shepard, Earth will become a barren rock. They're a multi-national team composed of Ava Hamilton (Mbatha-Raw), Kiel (Oyelewo), Schmidt (Bruhl), Monk (Ortiz), Mundy (O'Dowd), Volkov (Hennie) and Tam (Ziyi). Tensions are running high as time flies by and the number of possible attempts to get Shepard working decreases. Finally, the team succeeds, but it carries a heavy price. Strange things are going on, from loud noises to a woman named Jensen (Debecki) found in the wall). Oh, and Earth has disappeared.
"The Cloverfield Paradox" is all climax. It never stops. This may seem like a good thing, but actually it's not. There's so much noise and action that there's little room for the plot or the characters to gain any traction. What tension there is exists because director Julius Onah is able to assemble action scenes with skill. But the pacing is so frantic that it's hard to get truly invested.
One really smart move on the part of the filmmakers is to fill the cast with some of the best up-and-coming character actors in the business. Just look at who's in this movie: Gugu Mbatha-Raw from the criminally underrated "Miss Sloane," David Oyelowo from the overrated "Selma," should-have-gotten-an-Oscar-nod Daniel Bruhl, "Bridesmaids" hunk Chris O'Dowd, and Chinese superstar Zhang Ziyi (the girl from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" for anyone who doesn't know). All do what they can, not that they're given much to do. Ziyi is in particular short-changed, having almost nothing to do but be Ms. Plot Exposition. There's also the odd choice where she only speaks Chinese and others speak it to her, but I'll let that slide.
Netflix and Bad Robot have released this film in a way that could charitably be called "a vote of no confidence." Releasing the trailer with no previous advertising (and I mean none) on the same day they released the film is a decision that is only reserved for movies that studios don't want to admit they had a part of. In all honesty, "The Cloverfield Paradox" isn't that bad. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy myself at times, but it's too sloppily made for me to recommend outright.
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