The Cloverfield Paradox is the third film in J.J. Abrams' Cloverfield franchise, and arguably the worst one. My favorite monster film of all time is 2008's Cloverfield, and with the release of 10 Cloverfield Lane in 2016 (which was an astounding thriller), I had very high hopes for this futuristic, monster universe that Abrams had created. For a few years now, there have been only rumors surrounding the third installment, but during Super Bowl LII this last Sunday, the first trailer aired for the film which dropped later that night. This was an extraordinary marketing stunt by this team, and it got me, and I'm sure millions of others, very excited for the new movie. However, while this film explains (?) where the monster Clover came from, it is riddled with a painfully dull plot and nothing much to bring to the table except for a few good performances.
The biggest problems with this film included its predictable, boring plot, and the weak connection to the other films in this universe. The plot of the film revolved around a crew of astronauts who were sent into space in order to test a particle accelerator to create unlimited energy for their world, which was suffering from an energy crisis. The problem with all of that, though, is that it worked just like any other typical sci-fi movie. Things go wrong, there was a lot of unnecessary suspense, and most of the crew ends up dead. The story brought absolutely nothing new to the genre, even though this film is part of a bigger universe. Or multiple universes, as this film suggested. The other confusing aspect of the plot was that the multi-verse and how the monsters and aliens came was never fully explained. The crew of the ship jumped from universe to universe and back again, and this was apparently the entire background given to the creatures. This did not remotely explain the existence of Clover in the original film or the aliens that were in the final scenes of 10 Cloverfield Lane. My main issue is that J.J. Abrams wants to keep too much of his larger vision a secret, and leaves practically everything up to the fans to speculate. While a certain level of teasing and theories are typical and expected from any fanbase, it seems as though Abrams wants his entire audience to guess critical plot points in the franchise. This is not a good way to run a successful series, because all the fans want are answers and creative explanations. I would personally think that J.J. Abrams, being the talented visionary that he is, would have a better plan for these films. Compared to the previous two movies, this one is definitely the weakest, and the writing did not do it much justice.
While the lackluster story was the central issue plaguing this movie, there were still a few notable aspects that made the movie worth the watch. The best part of this film was its performances by the cast. Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Daniel Brühl led the amazing cast of this film with their strong roles and excellent acting. Even though the crew of the ship all came from different countries on Earth, I very much appreciated that the majority of the cast were people of color. It is fantastic to see more and more directors become aware of lack of representation and decide to fix that problem. In fact, the best performances in this film came from Mbatha-Raw and David Oyelowo, both people of color. They truly embodied the spirit of a sci-fi thriller, and performed brilliantly. Other things that I love about this film include the genre switch and the final shot of the movie. One of the most compelling things about the Cloverfield franchise is that each film takes on a completely different genre. From a "found-footage" monster movie to a secluded thriller to a science-fiction drama, this series does well with incorporating multiple styles of filmmaking. This has always been the biggest draw-in for me, but unfortunately this film let me down. The final shot, however, got me very excited to see what other films are in store, as we got a quick glimpse of the best boy in the monster universe, Clover. While I am not sure which version of Clover this one was, it was nice to get that flashback to what started this entire world.
The Cloverfield Paradox is a very underwhelming addition to Abrams' universe that lacked a story engaging enough to keep me awake. While it had great representation and performances from the cast, it was simply not enough to sustain my interest. I am disappointed by this film and sincerely hope that whatever future Cloverfield movies Abrams produces are more clear-cut and interesting than this one.
My Rating: ★★½
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