Review of The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) by Sin S — 08 Feb 2018

I found the marketing strategy associated with this movie to be quite clever. Having only the Superbowl spot definitely caught my interest. Sadly, within minutes, I realized why "The Cloverfield Paradox" was released as a direct to Netflix movie.

It really doesn't have anything the other two entries in the series had. The movies have never had a solid connection, but at least the name has been used to tell tension-filled and engaging sci-fi stories.

This was the first time where nothing stood out. I found the story to be by the numbers and the premise to be completely wasted. Despite acceptable visuals and performances, the movie never gives the viewer any reason to care.

I felt no stakes because all of the characters were one-note and found a lot of the movie to be boring. There are no real scares here, just lots of loud noises and disturbing imagery. It is very possible that my expectations were raised due to the "Cloverfield" name attached to it but I don't think it changes the fact this is a fundamentally bad movie.

Overall this movie has a story that clearly tries to imitate better movies, showcases flat characters, and is devoid of any real tension. As a fan of the other movies in this anthology, I was immensely let down.

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