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'The Cloverfield Paradox' Review: Surreal and Elusive, But Beyond Understanding
BY Mikah Cutts
Published 6 years ago
A third installment of the Cloverfield Cinematic Universe is now on Netflix, and it seems it served a plate full of disappointments. Critics have shared their ideas about “The Cloverfield Paradox,” but it all boils down to one thing: the story. What exactly happened to this third charm to capture us into another compelling narrative on Earth’s dystopian fantasy? What is wrong with “The Cloverfield Paradox” and why isn’t it receiving the applause the first two installments got?
Netflix
The storyline goes like this—the world’s energy resources are on the verge of exhaustion which prompts tension amongst countries and individual lives. In a risky experimental mission to save the Earth and its energy crisis, a team of intellectuals climb on board the Shepard Particle accelerator and undergo a space project that involves firing a massive beam of energy. The odd thing about this is that while there are many risks to this project, there is a dangerous threat that looms over the whole mission that was poorly emphasized—the risk of opening a Space Membrane that could release ‘monsters, demons, aliens, etc.’ to Earth. And for some strange reason, nobody seems to care.
Scott Garfield/Netflix
Granted everyone’s just dying (literally) to solve that energy crisis—wouldn’t going up against ‘demons’ be a little too risky? And why did that important piece of information get only less than a minute of film time? Isn’t that an essential landmark in the film’s narrative? Because sure enough if it had a more in-depth explanation of how it is so, the audience would find themselves convinced—and maybe even a little more lenient with all the mayhem that they will be witnessing in a few minutes.
But that’s not the last of it.
‘The Cloverfield Paradox:’ Nonsensical storytelling
Right after firing the beam, strange things begin to happen. On the first attempt to mystify us, we discover a woman trapped inside the wall with wires through her body. Even more intriguing is that she knows Ava’s (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) name. At first, this plot twist captures us, and we find ourselves trying to make sense of how she got stuck in there. But then the strange things that follow make less and less sense. It has gotten to a point where instead of giving us Non-fiction vibes, it turns into a Sci-Fi horror film.
Scott Garfield/Netflix
Poorly written characters like Kiel (David Oyelowo), Schmidt (Daniel Brühl), Jensen (Elizabeth Debicki), and Mundy (Chris O’Dowd) all underwent their illogical traumas that continue to baffle the viewers in a wrong way. It’s like an unfortunate clash of “Black Mirror” and “Final Destiny” in space. Their personal horrors could at least ground itself on some fundamental science that the audience could somewhat understand—but because it is so out of this world, it fails to deliver a compelling scene. Thus, it becomes boring.
Scott Garfield/Netflix
Another plot twist transpires when Jensen reveals her own character’s storyline—and no one gets it. It was just less than five minutes of her verbalizing something about Ava destroying The Shepard crew or something. This scene could have worked if there was a flashback of some sort or a longer storytime with Jensen, but because the situation is supposed to be tense, a flashback just didn’t call for it. So we’re left to watch their brawl confused and maybe even bored.
In a nutshell, “The Cloverfield Paradox” tells an incoherent story that no one seems to understand. But the explanation for that is that it’s ‘from another dimension’ which is why it is unfathomable for us. Nonetheless, it doesn’t defend a film’s purpose—to tell a story and to make an impact. But because we are presented with characters with underwritten backstories, reactions that just aren’t realistic, and subplots after subplots of uncanny scenes, the film disconnects with its viewers.
Scott Garfield/Netflix
Unlike its latest predecessor, “10 Cloverfield Lane” (which sticks to a simple but gripping plot), Netflix’s “The Cloverfield Paradox” just doesn’t connect with the regular viewer. It’s almost surreal and elusive that it is beyond our understanding. Maybe if it extended to about 3 hours—this time with explanations and a better character presentation, viewers would be satisfied.
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