The Cloverfield Paradox

The Cloverfield Paradox

Starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Daniel Bruhl, Chris O'Dowd

Directed by Julius Onah

The Story:
In the near future, Earth is suffering from frequent power outages, and a global energy crisis is on the brink.  A team of international scientists and astronauts are sent into space to test out the Shepard particle accelerator that would supply Earth with unlimited power, even though it also poses the threat that it would open a wormhole that would allow inter-dimensional demons and creatures to invade Earth.

After two years of unsuccessful testing, they manage to operate the accelerator, but then they find that the Earth has disappeared - they effectively sent themselves into an alternate dimension.  Strange events begin to occur on the ship, one being the arrival of Jensen (Elizabeth Debicki), who appears in a wall covered in wires.  Command leader Kiel (David Oyelowo) and Ava Hamilton (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) work with the other people aboard to fix the ship and return to their original dimension, unaware of the terrors awaiting them if and when they arrive.

The Synopsis:
In 2008, J.J. Abrams released "Cloverfield," and it was a marketing marvel.  The first trailer didn't even have the title, just the release date, and an extensive viral marketing campaign raised awareness for the film.  When it was finally released, it was a shot in the arm for the already predictable found footage format, resulting in a spectacular effects-laden sci-fi horror film shot through the eyes of ordinary people.

In 2016, there was speculation of a "Cloverfield" sequel, but no one had any concrete proof of it, until a surprise trailer naming itself "10 Cloverfield Lane" was released mere months before the film.  Again, it was a marvel in marketing that raised the hype for the film, and when it was released, it was also a huge hit.  Even though some thought it was a direct sequel, it had little to do with the original, instead establishing the films as a franchise.  Whereas the first film was found footage of destruction in New York City, "10 Cloverfield Lane" was a small film shot in normal style centering around three people in a bunker in the rural country, starring big name stars like John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.  Whereas the first film was grand in its scale of effects and destruction, this one was grand in its character study and continual sense of dread.

Almost immediately following, word was again raised about the third film in the franchise, titled "God Particle."  It was set to be released in February of 2017, but got pushed back to February 2018.  Then, in January 2018, rumors abounded that the film was again pushed back, this time to April.  No one expected what would happen next:  during the Super Bowl, the biggest televised event in America, a trailer was released called "The Cloverfield Paradox," announcing it would be released on Netflix immediately following the Super Bowl.  Finally, after all those years of eager anticipation, the third "Cloverfield" film was about to be released, again in a marketing stroke of genius.

Unfortunately, even though this film boasts the most well-known actors so far, it ultimately fell flat compared to its predecessors.  Part of the reason it failed was due to the nature of the film as a whole, and another came with the concept that the director tried to cram in too many different topics in one confined space.

The nature of this film centers on a team of international astronauts and scientists who travel to space to test a particle accelerator that would supply unlimited energy.  As it is with most films centering around a spaceship in the vacuum of space, there's your generic stock characters with very little backstory and even less reason to care about them, and that's unfortunately the case here as well.  Each person exhibits their national stereotypes (the Chinese girl only speaks in Chinese, the Russian is the most hot-headed, the German is the most shady, and so on), and you know most of them exist merely to be snuffed out one-by-one.  That's not entirely the fault of the writers - they can't really go anywhere different when confined to the space they had to work in.

The acting is impressive, but not as impressive knowing that the cast itself consists of some of the most talented actors out there today.  Gugu Mbatha-Raw has the most story (and therefore you know she'll make it far) as Ava, a woman who looses almost everything on Earth and is the most level-headed of the group.  David Oyelowo is the American leader, while Daniel Bruhl is the shady German.  Chris O'Dowd supplies the comic relief (even after loosing an arm), and Zhang Ziyi is the no-nonsense Chinese woman.  Each character fits into their mold perfectly, but there's nothing more to them than that.

Even though it's set in a confined space, the writers did try to make something new by not having the main enemy be an alien parasite, but rather the concept of parallel dimensions and paradoxes.  As it is with time travel, you will have certain paradoxes that need resolved, and "The Cloverfield Paradox" is no stranger to that theme - it's even in the title.  They took the biggest risk by using the accelerator, even though if they did they could open a dimensional door to allow creatures to invade, and of course that's exactly what happens.  Yet the astronauts don't know that, because they warped themselves into a parallel dimension while the creatures ravaged Earth.

Yet this parallel dimensional travel didn't leave the astronauts unscathed.  Due to their rip in the continuum, they faced life-threatening issues of their own - including things disappearing and re-appearing in certain body appendages, trading arms with parallel selves, and other events that come from left field and at least give a little something different to the already tired subgenre, but not by much.

The most unique thing about the Cloverfield franchise is how it doesn't seem to connect with each other, but actually do in very subtle ways.  Fans of the franchise will notice the small nods here and there to different events in the other films, without outright tying them together.  It's a unique way to create a franchise, and even though this one doesn't deliver like the other two, it's no reason to give up on it altogether.

The Summary:
A film better known for its unique brand of marketing than the story itself, "The Cloverfield Paradox" serves as a paradox for the series itself, trying to liven up the tired space exploration concept but failing to provide anything new in the process.

The Score: B