The Cloverfield Paradox

Did I really see it, or just dreamed it? The Cloverfield Paradox is the space version of The Room that flies with its silliness to somewhere beyond the boundaries of tastelessness, where it shakes hands with Robot Monster, Turkish Star Wars before heading to infinity. Julius Onah, along with the writers, is the new Tommy Wiseau. I believe that in a few years this will be a stellar addition to The Shockproof Film Festival, and with the help of alcohol it could be an interesting group experience, like when the audience of The Room bombards the screen with plastic spoons during midnight screenings. Hell, yeah! (26/03/2018)

All right, I'll round those three and a half stars up. The Cloverfield Paradox is, in my opinion, a deliberate tribute to the B sci-fi films of the 1950s, when the spaceship failed to keep itself in space without strings or wire and where the worst paid member of the staff was sweating in every giant rubber monster. But the trashy plot didn't bother me at all, and the actors I think acted exactly how they were supposed to. It's too bad that the serious situation game didn't last all the time and that it had to be interrupted primarily by unfunny escapades around one amputated but still alive hand (“Will it grow back?" belongs more to Monty Python or the Simpsons, not here), because otherwise I was quite satisfied. I liked the ending (aside from the last shot) very much and would say I won't have a problem watching the film again. (06/01/2019)

The Americans decided to turn the original found footage Cloverfield movie into their cash cow, so they keep shooting one flick from this universe after another. In film in particular, you have to ask yourself what the Monster has to do with a space ship flying somewhere through space. There’s really no logic in this connection. But it’s still a b-movie with the most stellar cast in the last thirty years or so. So technically it looks fine, the cast is good, but you still cannot shake the feeling that you’re watching a terrible bullshit that makes no sense. This movie is a prime example of the thin line separating good sci-fi movies with a message from pieces of horrible crap. (28/04/2020)

The Cloverfield Paradox tries to be a smart film, but fails on more than one front. You can never have too many alternate reality films, but in this case I found it bland and unpolished. I was expecting a larger dose of suspense and action from a film set on a spaceship that suddenly finds itself in trouble. On the other hand, the dramatic line didn't work either (Ava and her family). In many ways, the film is similar to Life and Aliens, but qualitatively it is quite different. As a result, you sense an obvious yet untapped potential. (04/04/2020)

The Cloverfield Paradox is not a bad film, but it can leave a certain bitter taste of disappointment, ambiguity, non-fulfillment, or a certain emptiness that comes after the end. Given the cast in the film and what Netflix has been coming up with lately, I found this a little lazy and that it definitely does not live up to the potential that Cloverfield has. It's still decently average, though. (06/04/2018)