Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'The Cloverfield Paradox'

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK... 

Of the many, many film franchises that are available to cinephiles, I’m of the firm belief that no other series out there is quite as perplexing as the Cloverfield saga. After all, it’s the only horror/sci-fi series that I’ve ever encountered that has done virtually nothing when it comes to explaining or revealing the origin of its cadre of disturbing and destructive monsters, something that is often a standard for both genres.
 
After all, we should have learned something about the giant monster that attacked New York City in the first film, but the giant bugger was nothing more than a howling force of nature. We should have heard and seen more when it comes to the alien invasion that took place in 10 Cloverfield Lane but instead its appearance was treated as nothing more than an M. Night style twist. But, it would seem that producer J.J. Abrams has finally reached the point where he feels the time is right to give us all the answers by way of a third film in this mysterious franchise; The Cloverfield Paradox.
 
Now the plot behind this particular tale takes us into the near future, where mankind’s resources are finally dwindling to the point where the nations of the world are ready and willing to fight to take possession of what remains by force, and in the hopes of saving mankind from utter chaos, the world has sent all of its hopes and dreams into the skies above, where a handful of scientists aboard the orbiting Cloverfield Station hope to make them all come true. Because if their work is a success, the Shepard particle accelerator aboard the station will provide enough clean and free energy to solve every crisis back home. Thankfully, the accelerator does work, but unfortunately for our world, and countless others…the price of this scientific breakthrough comes at an incredible cost…

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Released quite literally moments after Super Bowl LII came to a close on Netflix, The Cloverfield Paradox is a film that was quickly derided by many a critic and well, I don’t fully understand why. It’s not a masterpiece by any means, but it’s also not the worst motion picture ever made. The acting is fine. The special effects are top notch, so I’m sure you’re wondering at this point exactly what it is that makes this film so incredibly mediocre and the answer to that question is simple…the movie quite simply has no clue what it wants to be. At times it’s a horror film, filled with genuine scares. At other times it’s a science fiction film, filled to the brim with enough technobabble to satisfy any fan of the genre. Yet, it’s also a family drama and well, putting this much stuff into an hour and forty-minute film makes for a jumbled storyline that jumps around far too often.
 
But truly, the film’s greatest folly is that it’s clear that the genesis of the Cloverfield franchise is simply shoehorned into the script. Every moment of explanation feels forced and contrived and well, it cheapens what should have been a magical revelation for fans of this storied franchise everywhere. Instead the grand reveal of everything simply falls flat and that’s unfortunate because this could have been a grand opportunity to revitalize the series and give it a gravity, storytelling wise, it has never known before. If anything, it just goes to show that the screenplay should have undergone a massive re-write in order to properly integrate the Cloverfield mythos into this story, but alas, what’s done is done.
 
However, the film is supremely watchable. The action plays out nicely and there are some wonderfully endearing moments to be found as well. As an added bonus, as a fan of the series myself, at least we do have some answers as to how all of these horrible creatures and aliens came to be and while this film was not the Dawn of the Dead or the Aliens of the franchise that I think people were hoping for, it’s still quite the entertaining ride and while it is truly designed to satisfy the Cloverfield fan base, this isn’t a bad place to start if you’ve been holding off on exploring this strange yet fascinating universe.  

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