It’s hard to believe that a year has passed, but it was exactly 365 days ago that I was watching the Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. One of those pricey Super Bowl ads arrived and it produced a jaw-dropping moment. The latest in the J.J. Abrams produced Cloverfield series was going to be available to watch immediately following the game on Netflix. Needless to say, The Cloverfield Paradox was cued up and watched as soon as the Eagles accepted the trophy as Super Bowl champs.
Here we are a year later, and The Cloverfield Paradox arrives on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download formats. The film was divisive, some didn’t care for it. Others, like The Movie Mensch, was completely riveted by the third film in the Cloverfield franchise—after Cloverfield (2008) and 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane.
By the close of director Julius Onah’s film, the entire Cloverfield universe is coming a tad more into focus. If nothing else, the latest film in the series has us yearning for more. A good thriller that lies within a series such as Cloverfield should do several things—answer questions but raise more questions than answers. That is what each installment has done. The first one, well, we didn’t even know the “found footage” flick was part of a larger world until that trailer dropped for the John Goodman starring chiller that greatly expanded the Cloverfield universe. That ending, wow!
This time out (no spoilers!), there are countless ways that this series can proceed, and each would be welcomed. Please, oh, please let there be more coming from the mind of Bad Robot’s writers who have been spinning this web for over a decade now.
What has set the Cloverfield movies apart from other sci-fi endeavors is how unique each film is to the prior. The first was a found footage disaster movie. The second was a myriad of things, most notably a home invasion/post-apocalyptic survival movie. The Cloverfield Paradox is purely a science fiction-laden space film where the stakes of the science in the science fiction could not be higher.
The film finds an international crew aboard an orbiting the Earth space station. The crew is on the verge of discovering an energy source that could potentially power the world forever. It, thankfully, does not involve fossil fuels or anything else that has those on the ground of the planet on the verge of all-out war over what little resources are left in the world. As they test the device that could change the fate of the planet, some unexpected happens and the mystery aspect of our story becomes all sorts of riveting. What could be a horrifying alternate reality has arrived and who to trust and what is real and what is a result of this test has our ensemble jockeying between being at each other’s throats and coming together to try to avert World War III.
The cast is stellar and includes our favorite European actor working today, Daniel Bruhl (Rush). The Cloverfield Paradox also stars Elizabeth Debicki (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), Aksel Hennie (Hercules), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (A Wrinkle in Time), Chris O’Dowd (Get Shorty and Bridesmaids), John Ortiz (Silver Linings Playbook), David Oyelowo (Selma) and Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Each knows their part in this tale and plays it perfectly.
I have always been fascinated by stories that open doors to a timeline and find ways to change the present, alter the past and of course—make the future malleable. That so happens in The Cloverfield Paradox and it’s also one of those movies that does not hold your hands. Hint: Don’t watch if you are not all there—this is a film that requires your full attention and honestly, repeated viewings as well, which makes it a perfect must-buy home video release.
Throughout the film, there are “a-ha!” moments that abound in terms of macro reveals about the Cloverfield world and even micro moments within this story. It’s like as soon as you think you have something figured out, filmmakers toss a wrench into the mix and we’re off in a completely different direction! It’s a fun ride.
The bonus features contain never-before-seen footage. For those who are passionate about this world, do not miss several mini-documentaries that delve deeply into the mythology. Those are important, as this world continues to grow exponentially. The almost-fifteen-minute Things Are Not As They Appear: The Making of The Cloverfield Paradox runs the gamut in scope, featuring cast and crew members discussing everything from the stories’ inspirations, the practical sets and subsequent production design, special effects, story insight and most importantly—the many paradoxes that are unearthed in the film itself. Our only complaint of this featurette is that it is not longer! But hey, that old saying could not be truer when it comes to the Cloverfield world, “leave them wanting more.”
The second featurette, Shepard Team: The Cast, also clocks in at about 15 minutes and gives us a deeper look at the characters that comprise the folks on this all-important mission and the thespians who were tasked with portraying them. What’s fascinating about this featurette is it is not simply a practical look at finding a character and bringing that soul to life on the set. There is insight into the overall arc of this film and the series itself revealed by the actors and actresses who comprise the ensemble.
Film Grade: B
Bonus Features: B