Film Review: The Cloverfield Paradox

"I Don't Know What To Believe Anymore..."

Dropping out of nowhere and onto Netflix in a remarkably abnormal and somewhat anarchic fashion, The Cloverfield Paradox, the second sequel to Matt Reeves' 2008 shaky-cammed monster marathon Cloverfield after 2016's claustrophobic, 10 Cloverfield Lane, bears it teeth without any sign of meaningful marketing or propaganda-esque pushing aside from a thirty second trailer proceeding its' release only hours before its' availability worldwide on everyone's favourite streaming service. Whilst such a decision is undoubtedly refreshing and boundlessly groovy, the question remains whether the film itself is worthy addition to a franchise which deserves plaudits for its' adventurous attempts at building a somewhat Twilight Zone infused shared universe, and with a cast list featuring the likes of Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Miss Sloane), Daniel Brühl (Rush) and David Oyelowo (Selma), and a ideas-based narrative which attempts to solve the ambiguities of its' predecessors, The Cloverfield Paradox, on paper, has success stamped all over it. Unfortunately however, Netflix's latest high profile release is a ludicrous mess of a movie, one which begins in absorbing fashion with acres of room to flex its' muscles but then descends into a shark-jumping bore-fest which not only veers the franchise off course, but could potentially endanger it completely. 

Attempting to gel together the mystery at the heart of the franchise in regards to the origin of the destructive beast from the first entry, The Cloverfield Paradox, directed by big-time debutante, Julius Onah, follows Mbatha-Raw's Ava Hamilton as she crews up with her expeditious space team aboard the Cloverfield Station in order to test the particle accelerator by the name of "Shephard" which has been designed in order to combat the life-threatening global energy crisis on Earth. Mixing in elements of Interstellar, Event Horizon and in regards to its' dealings with augmented reality splits, the rather excellent, if little seen, Coherence, Onah's movie suffers from having too much to say without any real follow-through, and with a wildly inconsistent tone which rakes in awfully timed comedy amidst perils of catastrophic possibilities, The Cloverfield Paradox is undoubtedly a missed opportunity and hands down the worst entry of the franchise thus far. With Chris O'Dowd being the glaring error of casting, with his supposedly intellectual character undoubtedly the most cringe-worthy performance of the year so far, and elements of slapstick-laden body horror amidst dialogue which can only be described as the cinematic equivalent of a paint by numbers book, Netflix's latest big budget cornerstone is really quite poor, and even when the ideas on the surface are interesting enough to warrant some form of applause for trying, the execution is badly managed and ultimately, a sobering disappointment. 

Overall Score: 4/10

Film Review: Miss Sloane

"You Crossed The Line When You Stopped Treating People With Respect. You're Smart Enough To Know That. You Just Don't Care..."

When it comes to my favourite actors and actresses of recent times, the iconic and wholly reliable face of Jessica Chastain is always a healthy sight to behold, due in part to her lavish and totally envious good looks (Healthy celebrity crush incoming) but of course mainly down to a wide range of countless superb performances in films such as her outstanding leading role in Zero Dark Thirty, Christopher Nolan's science fiction masterpiece Interstellar and Terrence Malick's slightly baffling, yet undeniably beautiful The Tree of Life, all of which have quickly turned Chastain into one of Hollywood's most productive and bankable leading stars.  With the release of Miss Sloane this week, the latest from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel director John Madden, Chastain once again is given the freedom to flex her incredibly versatile acting muscles, taking a tightly wound grip of leading character Elizabeth Sloane, an esteemed and frighteningly determined US lobbyist, and completely taking control within the confines of a narrative which is as gripping as it is infectiously ludicrous where although the movie's shark-jumping conclusion does threaten to ruin the smartly positioned groundwork which precedes it, is undoubtedly an enjoyable and vigorously entertaining political ride.

With a script from first time writer Jonathan Perera, one which moves along ever so efficiently and robustly and one which inevitably nods its' head to a wide range of modes of political escapism including the likes of House of Cards and The West Wing, the titular character of Elizabeth Sloane is indeed a cold and calculated amalgamation of Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood and Peter Capaldi's conniving and spidery spin doctor, Malcolm Tucker, in the masterful Armando Iannucci led, The Thick of It, slipping her hands into a rafter of political pies in order to achieve what she desires most. Supported by the likes of Mark Strong, Michael Stuhlbarg and Belle star, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Madden's film travels between elements of tension, comedy and tight-knit drama, occupying a much needed space in the vacuum of below-par movies I have suffered in these last few weeks, and whilst the concluding act in which genetically configured insects and a cop-out resolution does come across way too immature and silly when considering the fundamental subject matter, Miss Sloane is a highly entertaining political drama which reinforces Jessica Chastain as the person you need to take your movie up an entire critical level.

Overall Score: 8/10