THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX (2018) **

The Cloverfield Paradox was released Super Bowl Sunday on Netflix with little fanfare.  To my knowledge, there had been no trailers or photos of the movie (aside from a few online rumblings to its actual existence) up until then, which was a smart move because it allows the viewer to go into it completely cold.  Streaming it in the home, with zero expectations, it is a passable, albeit forgettable effort.  I’m sure that if viewers had been waiting months in anticipation to see it in the theater, it would’ve been a massive disappointment.

This is the third installment in the Cloverfield franchise.  Plot-wise, they’re only marginally related.  However, The Cloverfield Paradox keeps with the tradition of introducing an intriguing premise and then letting it circle the drain from there.

It certainly had the most promise of the three films.  The set-up is a mix of ‘60s Cold War paranoia, ‘70s energy crisis parable, and ‘80s Alien rip-off.  In the near future, the world is approaching the end of sustainable energy while inching closer to the brink of global war.  A team of multinational scientists go into space seeking a way to sustain energy by performing a particle accelerator test.  The experiment goes wrong and they wind up in a parallel dimension.  The two alternate realities soon begin fighting for supremacy, causing odd paradoxes and bizarre changes among the crew. 

In addition to Alien, there are scenes that might remind you of Event Horizon and Galaxy of Terror, just to name a few.  As the Alien rip-off subgenre goes, you can certainly do a lot worse.  Despite a few bizarre moments (most of which relate to the paradoxes that occur onboard the ship), there really isn’t a whole lot here to recommend.  Viewers hoping for any connective tissue to Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane will likely find this to be a frustrating experience.  I for one think it would’ve been better without the nods to the other films, but what do I know?  I haven’t like a Cloverfield joint yet.

The cast is better than the movie deserves.  Gugu Mbatha-Raw does a fine job as the Ripley of the piece.  She’s particularly good in the scene where she’s confronted with the possibility that her dead children are now alive in this alternate universe.  Daniel Bruhl, David Oyelow, Zhang Ziyi, and Chris O’Dowd (who gets a few funny moments) aren’t given nearly as much to do, but they hold their own, despite the weak script.

One neat touch:  In the future you can use a 3-D printer to make guns AND bagels!  Who knew?