A 2018 American science fiction horror film directed by Julius Onah and written by Oren Uziel
The Cloverfield Paradox takes place in the near-future world in which the Earth is facing a global energy crisis. A potential saviour is the highly experimental Shepard space station, on which the majority of the film’s action takes place. The crew of the Shepard hail from various countries and represent the joint effort to solve the crisis which they are attempting to do by tapping into an essentially limitless source of energy. Two years of failed experiments later and tensions on earth are steadily rising while the crew on the Shepard quickly run out of time with limited chances left to get things working. However, when the experiment finally does work, it sets off an unexpected chain of events.
Your enjoyment of this movie is going to depend entirely on your ability to suspend your disbelief. There are quite a few plot holes in this film as well as some random events that are never explained and don’t seem to serve any purpose. The acting and special effects are quite good however and the film manages to keep you interested in cramming plenty of action in. The film keeps up a good pace throughout and it does manage to tie itself back into the other Cloverfield titles. It is far from obvious when the movie starts how this title links with those previous, however, the connection is revealed as the film progresses. How satisfying this connection is can be debated by it does seem to set up for further explanation through future films, much like the previous films also did.
If you are the type of person who cannot look past scientific inaccuracies in movies, then I would definitely give this film a miss as it will only make you angry. It is certainly not the greatest example of the craft as far as plot goes either, as it felt a bit clunky in sections. However, if you can look past these failings, there is an enjoyable if not spectacular movie to be found. It is worth a look, especially if you have enjoyed the other Cloverfield films, but this is certainly the weakest of the offerings so far.
| Starring: | Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Daniel Brühl, Chris O’Dowd and Elizabeth Debicki |
|---|---|
| Stars: | 2/5 |
| Available on: | Netflix |
