The release of the third installment of Bad Robot’s “Cloverfield” franchise was a sudden and surprising one.
After months of delays and a production shrouded in mystery, those watching the Super Bowl were finally greeted with a name, trailer and release date. “The Cloverfield Paradox” would be released on Netflix following the end of the game.
With Earth’s resources quickly depleting, a last-ditch effort is conceived by the nations of the planet to create a source of endless energy. Fearing the consequences that the machine could have on Earth, an international space station is constructed to build and perfect this device. Leaving her planet behind, Ava Hamilton (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, “Beauty and the Beast”) and the rest of the crew are, after some time, able to get the machine fully operational with damning consequences.
I’m not going to say that “The Cloverfield Paradox” is as tight and concise as “10 Cloverfield Lane” nor as monstrously entertaining and frightening as the original “Cloverfield.” The film does suffer from a series of insanely ludicrous decisions from its characters, as well as an unrealistic bickering crew to create drama. Many horror moments feel forced, put into the film for the sake of killing of crew members and creating a false sense of intensity.
Yet, those are some of the reasons why I feel so positively towards the movie. Much like other universally panned forms of media like “Event Horizon” and “Dead Space 3,” this film is, for me, a perfect blend of camp, horror and misguided science fiction. It has everything I can’t get enough of.
Some may have an issue with the unexplained series of ridiculous events, but that’s just the icing on top. Others might find the complete lack of anything realistic offensive, but it’s science fiction. What did you expect? Sure, the clips of what this movie likes to call “news” are unnatural and wholly unappealing, and some moments are radically unnecessary, but the overall experience is too much fun to let those dampen the mood.
Reception for “Cloverfield Paradox” has been less than stellar. Some panned Paramount and Netflix’s use of marketing as a way to sucker viewers into watching what some say is less than apt film. Others simply directed their negative views toward the quality of the actual movie. Still, I’m not ashamed to say I positively adore “The Cloverfield Paradox,” even though…it is a bad film.
Score: 4.5/10.0
