The story set in the near future, centers on a team of astronauts on a space station making a terrifying discovery that challenges all they know about the fabric of reality, as they desperately fight for their survival.
Director: Julius Onah
Release Date:
Not Rated
Runtime: 1 hr. 42 min.
Genres: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Review:
Years from now The
Cloverfield Paradox, originally titled The God Particle, will be remembered
mostly for Netflix’s release strategy more than the actual content of the
film. Ultimately, Netflix’s strategy of
releasing a repurposed sci-fi film, which had been delayed a couple of times
before, after the Super Bowl shortly after premiering the first trailer gave
the film the kind of visibility it wouldn’t have received otherwise. The gambit surely paid off in spades even
though the final product is lacking in several areas. Sadly, for all the hoopla the film is simply
a passable sci-fi film that recalls better films like Sunshine or even Event
Horizon with a heaping serving of Star Trek’s oft used multiverse conceit. The result is an uneven story with a subplot
grafted onto it’s spine that tries desperately to connect the main story to the
larger franchise. It’s a choppy feel
throughout resulting in a story that never finds it’s footing even with the
ensemble’s best effort. The cast
assembled is impressively strong but the script leaves way too many of them
hampered with one dimensional character.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw does her best to give the entire production a heart beat
and is only partially successful; displaying some real chops in the film’s
final act. The rest of the cast is populated
by top notch actors like David Oyelowo and Daniel Brühl who try their best to
bring some sort of life to uncooked characters but they can only do so much
with razor thin characterizations.
Elizabeth Debicki’s character could have been thoroughly fascinating if
she’s been explored properly. In the
end, The Cloverfield Paradox is a glossy looking misfire which could have used
more fine tuning and less overt franchise shoehorning to work effectively.
C
