In my review for 10 Cloverfield Lane, I mentioned that it
wasn’t really a sequel to Cloverfield,
that the series was probably going to be an anthology instead of a shared
universe. However, the promo marketing for
the third installment, The Cloverfield
Paradox, implied that it was going to reveal how these movies are
connected. And it does that, in a way
that satisfied me immensely.
The story is set in 2028, in
which the world’s energy sources are soon going to be depleted, causing great tension
between countries. With the world at the
brink of war, mankind’s last hope lies on an international team of scientists sent
to the Cloverfield space station in order to find an infinite energy source via
the Shepard particle accelerator. After two
years of failures, they seem to have finally reached a breakthrough. However, something goes wrong, sending the
crew into a reality-bending nightmare in space.
As a movie per se, The Cloverfield Paradox is the worst of
the series. Now, I don’t think it’s terrible. But it’s rather obvious from how it
looks that it wasn’t going to be good enough for a wide theatrical release. Thus, the Netflix route.
The script isn’t mindblowing, but
I think it has a couple of interesting parts. And the
visual effects and production design are solid (at least, in the context of a
made-for-Internet-streaming production).
Overall, I liked it. It’s
adequately enjoyable as a science fiction horror film. It clearly borrows some ideas from other films
with somewhat similar premises, like Alien,
but it executes them well enough. And
though it’s a mess and inappropriately goofy sometimes, I do appreciate its inherent
eccentric feel. In fact, I probably enjoyed
this film more than last year’s Life (which had bigger stars and was actually released in theaters, and may be objectively better as a film, but is also pretty forgettable).
But what I really like most about The Cloverfield Paradox is what it has
brought to the franchise. First and
foremost, it explains how these films are connected. I’m baffled why some critics say that this
film fails to explain this when it’s rather spelled out in a convenient
exposition early in the film. And what’s
revealed is this: (SPOILERS) the Cloverfield
franchise is a multiverse! So far, each
story happens in its own universe (or, in the case of Paradox, in two parallel universes). And the particle accelerator accident – the
eponymous “Cloverfield Paradox” – is the catalyst on why monsters pop out across
different time periods in this multiverse, and how different realities
may cross over at some points. I’m sure
more details are going to be revealed in future movies, but for now, I find this initial, crazy set up extremely thrilling.
Second, Paradox further shows that the Cloverfield
films can and will come at different forms.
It’s because J.J. Abrams and co. are merely taking random scripts and plastering
the Cloverfield brand name on
them. Some will be cinematic theatrical
experiences; some will have B-movie qualities. But whatever a Cloverfield movie would turn out being,
it’s going to be a must-watch, simply because it’s definitely going to be
something entirely unpredictable and different from the others.
It’s a new way of doing a “shared universe” film series. Add this to the creative way these movies are
being marketed (exciting viral gimmicks and augmented reality games), produced (10 Cloverfield Lane got made under the
radar), and released (The Cloverfield Paradox dropped out of
nowhere), and Cloverfield is turning
out to be quite a revolutionary franchise.
Hence, I’m really excited for what levels of craziness and surprises the next Cloverfield installment – the
actual movie and the hype going into it – will bring. And what’s fantastic is that it’s only a couple of months away!
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