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| Scene from The Cloverfield Paradox |
Like a sonic crash, producer J.J. Abrams outdid himself during this past weekend's Super Bowl by not only starting the marketing for the third Cloverfield movie, but auspiciously releasing it in a matter that turned a cryptic 30-second teaser into the best post-game celebration imaginable. The film, titled The Cloverfield Paradox, appeared on Netflix no less than a minute after the game and once again proved Abrams strength as a marketer simply by finding the easiest way to get around trailers that spoil the entire movie. It's another masterpiece for the film in that regards. However, the film itself is maybe a bit too formulaic and low-budget to really be the touchdown that the franchise wants. It may expand the world to interesting new (literal) heights, but it's a bit difficult to love what they've done with it.
The Cloverfield franchise is easily the best sci-fi franchise in terms of marketing. With The Cloverfield Paradox coming out a few weeks after the 2008 original's 10th anniversary, it seems like a great time to remember how the film sold itself, creating an Easter egg of online content. Similarly, the sequel 10 Cloverfield Lane did a last second blitzkrieg a few years ago. More than how unexpected each film has been (though a fourth seems slightly less unpredictable), it's amazing that the films have resonated in spite of being different genres of horror. They've covered found footage, psychological terror, and now a journey into space that captures the view of planet Earth from above. How does this fit into the greater mythology? In some ways the choice to sprinkle a phone call of paranoia throughout the film does the job. However, it seems counterproductive to what the film actually achieves.
The trilogy follows a singular theme. It's a journey of humanity's fear in the face of chaos. What's incredible is that these three films have managed to use one event as a jumping off place for fear in its different forms. Nothing could possibly top John Goodman in one of his career best roles in 10 Cloverfield Lane managing to be one of the franchise's scariest (metaphorical) monsters. In that way, The Cloverfield Paradox doesn't owe anything to the original. All it needs to do is present a compelling story of humanity coming to terms with a scary situation. Unfortunately, it's at times a knock-off of Alien thanks to its claustrophobic, haunted house-style approach to suspense. The horror has some striking moments, such as a passenger mangled in a wall full of wires, but it's otherwise pretty familiar material that gets a little convoluted thanks to the film's weird obsession with "The God Particle."
In the lead-up to the film's release, many predicted that "The God Particle" was the production name for the film, with many assuming it was a bigger clue. After all, that's what Abrams does. Unlike his other misleads like say Benedict Cumberbatch in Star Trek Into Darkness, this element fits into the story - though it serves as the most confusing wrinkle to a film that initially builds itself as a malfunctioning spaceship story. Suddenly there's time and dimensions that complicate the idea of where/why/how the story is happening. It's one thing to have crew members missing their arms, Evil Dead II style, but it's another to add too many contexts and plot contrivances to the execution. By the third act, the stakes are high and the melodrama flies rampantly. The issue is that in spite of a film featuring such inherently likable faces as: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Chris O'Dowd, Elizabeth Debicki, and Daniel Bruhl among others; it feels crowded and at times feels like there's no purpose for them.
To some respects, the film's appearance is disappointing in comparison to the prior Cloverfield films. It feels cheap, even as the exterior shots of floating in space feel a few renderings short of beauty. The sets feel like that of a TV space show, not unlike recent Netflix phenomenon Black Mirror episode "U.S.S. Callister." There's no implicit dread in the architecture of the ship, instead making something that is only spontaneously curious, such as a strange wall that eats O'Dowd's hand and can move him around the seemingly flat surface. It's enough to make it alluring, but the cramped space never feels too threatening, and the Bear McCreary score is a bit too on the nose at times in how extravagant it wishes to be.
At its core, it works as a Cloverfield movie thanks to the fear from humanity. However, it does have a few frustrating notes as to how it relates to the series. For instance, it seems peculiar that a series based on extraterrestrial invasions wouldn't think to focus more on the attack that doomed humanity. Why focus on a strange time travelling plot instead of creating a compelling myth for how the alien made it to Earth? It feels like a bit of a short change and suggests that maybe this would've worked better without Cloverfield in its title. Having it there sets up expectations that, unlike 10 Cloverfield Lane, it cannot possibly live up to. It gets to have a nice moment at the end, but it feels a tad predictable given the foreshadowing.
There's a good chance that this film will have a notorious reputation, possibly even being the black sheep of the Cloverfield universe. It is by no means a complete trainwreck, as it is a decent space adventure that's fault is that this feels too familiar. There's nothing here to satisfy those wanting a hidden Netflix masterpiece, which would've been a nice alley-oops after Mudbound got a few Oscar nominations. Instead, it has established a straight-to-video mentality that may tarnish any potential marketing on this scale again. I would love to believe that there's going to be more Cloverfield films. The universe and genre potential is too expansive. However, this is a bit of a let down for a film with such a brilliant marketing twist that even tops the original in a sense.
The Cloverfield Paradox is a welcomed film on one hand in that it shows just how far the franchise is willing to go. The idea of this story expanding not only Earth but places beyond the stars seems tempting. However, it also shows that there should be at least some minimal focus on continuity, just for the sake of it all making sense. The choice to have a god particle and time jumping was a little much, and only convolutes the succinctness by which these stories have been told. It doesn't necessarily need to be about alien invasions, but one would hope it has something as ingenious as a paranoid John Goodman, or a bunch of 20-somethings filming a Godzilla-esque invasion. The Cloverfield Paradox doesn't really have much of that, and it's a shame. It works unfortunately too well for the format it's released in, but not particularly encouraging as a glimpse into this franchise's still rich future.
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