The Cloverfield Paradox (dir. Julius Onah)

The most interesting aspect of the new entry in the Cloverfield series has nothing to do with the film itself but rather it's historical marketing campaign. Though previous entries in this series have famously been shrouded in secrecy, last night's SuperBowl 52 half-time ad seemingly announced the film to the world for the first time, before inexplicably making it available to stream on Netflix two hours late. It's a landmark moment in the multi-platform distribution - but for all of the progressive circulation with which THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX should be attributed too, this muddled and ugly-looking sci-fi drama may bear the tag of a franchise flick, this reported sequel is a victim of it's own shameful contextualization.

Set aboard the spaceship HELIOS, in an unspecific time in the future, earth has been ravaged by oil wars and mankind needs to source a new method of energy: enter Ava Hamilton (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the de-facto leader of a space-crew tasked with saving earth from a complete blackout. Accompanied by fellow crew-members Daniel Brühl (Schmidt), David Oylewo (Kiel), Chris O'Dowd (Mundy), John Ortiz (Monk), Aksel Hennie (Volkov): after two years aboard the vessel, they're no closer to testing the particle accelerator called the Shepherd - a gigantic machine capable of harvesting renewable energy - and there inevitable failures have caused them to be constantly at odds with each-other. Things get periodically worse when their most recent attempt has dramatic ramifications - instead of harvesting energy, they are propelled into a parallel universe where all logic and laws of physics have been turnt upside down.

At first, there voyage into the unknown is met with the usual B-movie cliche's: from an impromptu death scene to a crew-member loosing his hand in the most bizarre fashion, the film attempts to unravel the inconsistencies of the plot by confusing the narrative even more, and more importantly ripping sequences seen in much superior sci-fi entries such as Alien and most recently Danny Boyle's Sunshine. Things don't get any easier to follow when some loud and piercing noises inside the walls of the ship are found to be that off Jensen (Elizabeth Debicki) - a fellow crew-member but of a different space and time. Her presence at first appears to be that of a usurper, but suddenly she becomes integral to the course. Every once and a while, the film will shift it's focus though from the nonsensical intergalactic nonsense and return to earth, where Michael (Roger Davies) - Hamilton's significant other - attempts to find refuge as the world descends into chaos.

Where the first CLOVERFIELD film succeeded was in it's marketing. Famously only referred to by it's release date (1-18-08) for much of it's pre-production, it wasn't until it's release it bore the name it has today. A pioneering feature in the genre of found-footage - audiences delighted at seeing a disaster movie that stripped away the plethora of plot exposition and concentrated on enticing it's audience with a large spectacle. Though it took nearly 10 years for a sequel, a tangential follow-up in "10 Cloverfield Lane" also exulted box-office success. With John Goodman's Howard keeping Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Michelle away from the monstrosities that lurk outside, it appeared that the producers at Bad Robot had found a interesting and nuanced approach at how to use elements of the first film to serve as a backdrop for a new and refreshing take on the canon. Like it's predecessor, not a peep came from filmmaker or big-time producer J.J. Abrams until it's release - another attempt at subverting the Hollywood routine of over saturating a film before it's release. Though many film journalists were aware of an upcoming sequel to this 2016 hit, none of us were aware of it's acquisition by Netflix, nor it's ultimate release into all territories during the biggest night of football in America.

But here's where the interest in this film ends; here, director Julius Onah shouldn't be wholly to blame for the misguided and unsatisfactory sci-fi schlock Netflix calls the "next chapter" in the Cloverfield franchise, as it's clear that elements of the narrative that are maligned with the franchise were added after the script was written, and the well publicized reshoots were ordered to make the mediocre sci-fi film more bankable.

Therein lies it's dilemma: it's script: characterization is completely absent - though an early scene with Hamilton and her boyfriend Michael seem to build to something more substantial, after second though it appears to be yet another reshoot sequence to fit the franchise narrative. Add together some screamingly poor dialogue, and a total disregard for narrative fluidity - this mind-numbingly tedious marketing experiment is awash with plot holes and confusing twists which only remind you that when film-makers try to create art to make a profit, the only thing that materializes is a crushing mess.

Though Gugu Mbatha-Raw, an always a terrific screen presence, holds the film together (here screen time is the most watchable), there's a undercurrent of desperation about the unabashedly poor direction and writing.

It's clearly evident from members behind the films genesis - who have cut and paste new storylines and plot contrivances to suit a healthier pay-day - are less interested in telling a story which can be relatable to the franchise than presenting derivative straight-to-dvd fair.

Perhaps Onah envisaged a nuts and bolts sci-fi popcorn thriller (the original title was God Particle) with an impressive cast and some mildly arresting CGI in the vain of last years Life by Daniel Espinosa or Morten Tyldum's Passengers, but alas, it's conversion into a Cloverfield sequel has turned it into a cheap and forgettable feature that is doubtless to serve as an example on the "new methods of distribution", but more on how to kill a potential viable franchise dead in just 104 minutes.

Rating 1/5