The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

[That One Girl]

#divisive

 

[cookie]

Feels like a test screening version of a better movie. Stuff happens that needed explanation, some scenes are almost out of order, a lot of parts could've been cut or re-edited... Plus it tries to be both a Final Destination/Event Horizon space horror movie and a direct tie to the first Cloverfield when it should've just been one or the other.

 

I like the cast, visuals and music so it's not a total loss but I can see why Paramount gave it to Netflix instead of trying to release it theatrically.

Edited February 6, 2018 by cookie

[75Live]

yeah this was just bad.  Not sure F bad so I was nice and gave it a D on the poll.

 

But yeah this literally had no point, didn't link with the movies at all other than showing a bunker at one point and a monster at the end.

 

It was like someone noticed that the movie Life with Reynolds was made and realized it was mostly the same so they just asked if they could stick the word Cloverfield in the title so make it seem different  

[Webslinger]

It's easy to see why The Cloverfield Paradox was jettisoned to Netflix with little to no warning: it's a mess that makes precious little sense and ultimately feels like it does nothing of consequence inside or outside of the Cloverfield mythos. While 10 Cloverfield Lane also suffered from trying to awkwardly tack a connection to Cloverfield onto a film that clearly wasn't designed to have one, at least that film was a compelling thriller that successfully played with audience expectations and the idea that humans are the real monsters; this film, on the other hand, feels like a low-rent Event Horizon rip-off - and that wasn't exactly a model film itself. Hardly anything in the script makes sense and the characters are drawn so thin that there's no point in investing in any of the forced drama that pops up along the way, nor any reason to be shocked when a character suddenly becomes a villain late in the third act. Despite a cast full of recognizable actors who each have at least one really good performance to their name, the only one who registers here is Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who at least tries to connect with her poorly-written character on an emotional level, but the script is so clumsy in its handling of her backstory that it doesn't have nearly the stinging effect it should. At first, I was comparing the film unfavorably against recent top-notch films of this genre - like Gravity, Interstellar, and The Martian - but as it became progressively dumber, I suddenly found myself thinking that even more noticeably flawed films like Alien: Covenant and Life looked masterful by comparison. 

 

D

 

Stray Thoughts:

- Please tell me I wasn't the only one desperate for Rick Sanchez to show up, save the day, and harangue the characters for their dangerous lack of knowledge about interdimenstional shenanigans. 

 

- In so, so many ways, it feels more like a pseudo-sequel/prequel/whatever-I-don't-care to Event Horizon (spoilers for that one ahead) than to Cloverfield. 

Spoiler

A ship goes into another dimension, the main ship learns of the deaths of crew members of the other ship, freaky shit happens on the ship, and significant characters are haunted by the deaths of loved ones prior to the events of the film. But at least Event Horizon had some exceptionally gnarly gore and an admirably insane twist - THE SHIP HAS BEEN TO LITERAL HELL! - to make the proceedings feel just a little less plodding.

 

- Good on Paramount for going straight to Netflix and dropping it with an accompanying Super Bowl spot. With a proper ad campaign and without so much sudden hype and snap curiosity to cancel out the numerous red flags, it would have bombed if it went to theaters.

[CoolioD1]

Friends, i have just returned from the other dimension with urgent news; this movie is boring and dumb there too.

[DAR]

I’m going to say some positive things.  It seemed to be in focus.  And the actors knew their lines.  And um it wasn’t over two hours.  Uh yeah that’s it.  ⭐️

Edited February 6, 2018 by DAR

[Goffe]

It bombards you with so much stuff all the time that it kinda kept me entertained well enough. There are at least 3 different movies here.

 

I genuinely enjoyed the score tho. 

Edited February 6, 2018 by Goffe

[baumer]

Can't wait to see it now.  @Telehilation hated it....this means I should probably like it.

[baumer]

Oh sit, @75Live didn't like it either....well, maybe I won't either.  He and I are usually agree on most films.

[75Live]

25 minutes ago, baumer said:

Oh sit, @75Live didn't like it either....well, maybe I won't either.  He and I are usually agree on most films.

 

true, but it's not like worst movie worthy to me and  I don't even hate it.  Just it really had no point and seemed like a made for tv special.

 

There's a shot you may like it enough so yeah give it a try and this may be one of those .000001% times where we disagree  

[Plain Old Tele]

1 hour ago, 75Live said:

 

true, but it's not like worst movie worthy to me and  I don't even hate it.  Just it really had no point and seemed like a made for tv special.

 

There's a shot you may like it enough so yeah give it a try and this may be one of those .000001% times where we disagree  

 

Baumer, he sits on a throne of lies. It's really really bad. 

[75Live]

5 minutes ago, Telehilation said:

 

Baumer, he sits on a throne of lies. It's really really bad. 

 

 

 

I'm out of like so couldn't do the haha so I went with this  

[Jake Gittes]

Mbatha-Raw gives it her all but otherwise this was a really long 100 minutes. Damn shame because this was the first movie in I don't know how many years where I went in genuinely knowing nothing about the story and having read no reactions whatsoever, and for the first act or so I was in pretty good spirits hoping that it would come together into something cool. But then it got messier and dumber and more tedious with every scene until it finally just blew its own brains out in the final 5 seconds. 

[B D Joe]

I never got invested in Hamilton's family storyline.

[ddddeeee]

Can this *finally* be the moment we collectively choose to ignore Abrams' mystery box nonsense?

[Avatree]

I have no idea what the point of this was. They just go to the other dimension, all get killed then they decide to come back.

 

Nothing made any sense. Some scenes that are made to look creepy end up just being laughable - the table footballers spinning is a neat idea but if the polarity is changing then WHY IS NOTHING ELSE ON THE SHIP SPINNING?

 

Why would mixing atoms from different dimensions make things have their own minds? E.g. the wall that moves around of its own accord. The arm crawling around I can almost get, but why is it writing? How does it know the gyro thing is inside the dude? How does the guy not notice there's an object inside him and why do the worms make up shoot up the ship?

Why when the room with Chris O'Dowd is magnetised, why does the pipe start strangling him? Why would any of this supernatural stuff happen?

 

None of it made sense. This is despite several characters being on hand to explain the plot to us. Felt like 10 different movies smashed together, was utterly stupid and easily the worst film of the year so far. It's barely a film and I have no idea how it made it to release in this edit. If this is really the best they could do in the editing room then it is a true clusterfuck of a movie.

 

For what it's worth I think the premise is great. I remember the conspiracy theories that made tabloid headlines when CERN activated their hadron collider, people who said a black hole would be opened. But the movie fails on every front.

 

Edited March 8, 2018 by Treeing Me Apart

[Jmart]

It’s not good. I’m not sure about the production history on this one, but it feels like there are two movies here that never quite gel. I’m not sure if the original film took place on the ship and the husband stuff was added in, but the husband stuff has to go, especially once the little girl arrives. Who is she and why do I care about her aside from her being a vulnerable little girl?

 

The stuff on the ship though? I don’t know, I found it kind of fun if ultimately predictable. I liked the stuff with Chris O’Dowd’s arm. Everything on the ship was better than the shitshow from last year - Life.

 

But then any favor the film might have had goes completely out the window with the last shot. That was fucking stupid.

 

Aside from 10CL, this series sucks.

 

C

[Blankments]

The Cloverfield Paradox brings the wonderful original sci-fi anthology to small screens, and honestly, that's the most disappointing thing about it. Something so weird, so fun, so surprising should be seen on a big screen in a full crowd, and the Netflix setting prevents the intriguing atmosphere ever to hit full potential. The cast is really fantastic, with Mbatha-Raw selling some really hard material. The script overall is... well, unpolished. The character arcs are fleeting and not everything makes sense, but that's okay. The most disappointing aspect is its need to connect to the other films in the franchise, rather remain an outlying anthology series of movies.

 

McCreary's score and Mindel's cinematography brings the trademark bravado of Cloverfield, and although it doesn't reach the heights of the previous entry, it earns the name of the anthology. The Cloverfield Paradox is a silly but exciting thriller where the innovation outreaches the grasp of the script. A fun little watch. B-