Watched The Cloverfield Paradox last night.
It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be based on the initial reaction. I actually enjoyed it for the most part, and didn't regret sinking my 1 hour and 40 minutes into it.
I wish they had been able to flesh out the crew just a little bit more before shit started hitting the fan. Some things felt low-impact because I didn't care about much of the crew.
I also think they could have done more with the "back on Earth" storyline during the film, both to make it more intriguing and to really pull it into the Cloverfield universe. We got tiny morsels, which was nice, but it just wasn't quite enough to pique my interest and make me question things as a whole. By the time the "big reveal" happens at the very end of the film, I was left wishing there had been just a bit more from that perspective.
I thought the paradoxical stuff was awesomely strange, and even unsettling, which worked well. I think they got the amount of strange occurrences right (more would have felt a bit ridiculous), but the effects on the characters themselves actually felt pretty low-rent, considering everything that was going on, and considering the impact we should have felt for them. I think that goes back to not fleshing out "crew as regular people" enough.
I'm kind of hoping they make a fourth installment that might more clearly connect the Cloverfield Monster to the Cloverfield Station, and then connect one or both to Cloverfield Lane.
I'd settle for a film that connects more closely with 10 Cloverfield Lane, though, since the intrigue of the films in the universe lies with making as little connection as possible, and making you fill in the gaps.
For example, I'd love to see a film that depicts a not-so-distant future on Earth where things aren't quite right, and then the end of the film connects to the events at the very end of 10 Cloverfield Lane somehow.
