Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Cloverfield Paradox Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 27, 2019

Normal life is hanging by a thread.

Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane were both major motion picture events released theatrically by Paramount, one of the oldest and most revered studios in the world. The Cloverfield Paradox, the third film in the loosely connected series, was made by Paramount, sold to Netflix prior to release, and was first advertised during the 2018 Super Bowl. And, surprise!, it was available for Netflix subscribers to stream, in full, after the big game. About a year later the film has made its way to Blu-ray, distributed by Paramount, but only on Blu-ray, despite the first two films in the series now being available on UHD. Regardless of technical specifications, the film shines on Blu-ray, offering one of the format's finest A/V presentations yet.

Cars wait in seemingly endless lines for fuel. Blackouts hit frequently. The threat of war looms over the world. Earth’s energy resources are dwindling and tensions are high across the globe. There is a glimmer of hope: the space-based Shepherd Particle Accelerator promises to provide free energy, solving the world’s energy crisis forever. Some scientists warn that the experiments being conducted on board the Cloverfield space station might unleash demons into the world’s past, present, or future and collide various timelines or dimensions. When the experiment on board Cloverfield to get the particle accelerator fully operational finally succeeds, it’s cause for momentary celebration. But the successful test run is followed by a violent backlash that results in minor damage to the station but, more importantly, Earth’s disappearance.

As the crew begins to sort out what’s happened and why, where Earth may be, or where they might be located in the cosmos, odd things begin to happen. Cloverfield’s engineer appears merged into the station’s wiring. She knows most everyone on the ship, but none of them recognize her. Key components vanish. Living organisms join with others. As the truth is revealed, tensions on the station rise as new, unfamiliar realities threaten human life across space and time.

The Cloverfield Paradox borrows liberally from other films and franchises, failing to find a freshness to set it apart from genre tropes. The film is a little bit of The Thing and a little bit of Event Horizon and a little bit of Star Trek all blended together into an agreeable, but undeniably generic, motion picture. The story lacks critical interest despite some nifty visuals and a few decent one-off ideas here and there, but the predictable core machinations are ultimately its greatest downfall. It plays well in isolation but seasoned Sci-Fi audiences will quickly note all of the similarities and likely stay on only for the connected universe reveal which isn't particularly interesting, either.

The Cloverfield franchise is taking the slow-drip reveal approach to building the larger story for the franchise. The original Monster movie and the sequel, a more complicated tale of survival against the unknown and alongside the unknown, laid an interesting foundation of a world under attack from deadly creatures from two very different perspectives. The Cloverfield Paradox barely manages to connect any dots or fill in any blanks. Beyond the station’s name and a final shot tease (in addition to some world building here and there, done mostly in the shadows), there’s just not much here, but what is here could possibly, if followed through smartly, serve as the defining connective tissue for the franchise. There are a number of juicy possibilities that could follow, but at this point the series is going to have to start delivering some answers rather than just tee up good ideas and leave them waiting to be smacked over the fence.

The Cloverfield Paradox Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Cloverfield Paradox was shot on film. The picture is texturally rich and extremely highly detailed, a picture-perfect, filmic presentation that boasts big-screen cinematic results. Faces, uniforms and patches, various slick and electronic surfaces around the station, or the spartan walls and furnishings around a shelter seen later in the film all offer incredibly well detailed and precise textures in every shot. Clarity is wonderful, grain is fine and evenly distributed, and there's not a soft shot or corner to be found. Colors are exceptional, even if the station's background is a fairly standard steely blue-gray hybrid. The dull olive station uniforms are broken up by yellow vertical lines on the left shoulder, a blue "esa" patch on the right chest, and flags and station patches on the sleeves. The movie is not abundantly colorful, but what's here is very well saturated within the film's fairly spartan color parameters. Skin tones are exquisite and black levels are perfect. No source flaws or compression artifacts are to be found. Blu-ray does not get better than this.

The Cloverfield Paradox Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Cloverfield Paradox features one of the finest Atmos tracks yet released. A jolt of low end rumble rattles the stage minutes into the movie, which is accompanied by discreetly positioned radio chatter that emanates from all speakers. The stage is completely immersed in the sounds of machinery thereafter, with a substantial overhead component. It's one of the finer examples of raw sonic intensity and top end engagement yet for an Atmos track; the sense of total saturation into a loud, chaotic sonic environment is a joy. Opening title music is likewise intense, with a prominent low end in support of front dominant but still surround intensive score, boasting not just ample space but excellent orchestral fidelity. The track is incredibly potent, with thunderous bass and rewardingly detailed and high power sound effects like screaming jet engines, rushing water, and shrilly Horror strings. The review would be too lengthy to point out and praise every great sound effect or immersive sonic moment in the film, so suffice it to say the Atmos presentation is a thrill of a listen, a perfectly harmonious, all-inclusive extravaganza of clarity, stage saturation, movement, and depth. This is an early contender for best audio track of 2019 and it's easily one of the most purely fun ever to grace Blu-ray.

The Cloverfield Paradox Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Cloverfield Paradox contains two featurettes. No DVD or digital copies are included. The release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Things Are Not As They Appear: The Making of The Cloverfield Paradox (1080p, 14:23): A discussion of the draw of the Cloverfield universe followed by a history of the script and its inspirations, story details, sets, photography, production design, special effects, the possibilities of the paradoxes depicted in the film actually happening, and more.
• Shepard Team: The Cast (1080p, 14:48): A thorough exploration of the characters and the actors who portray them.

The Cloverfield Paradox Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Cloverfield Paradox lacks plot originality and characters worth caring about. The end surprise is nothing to write home about, either, but the film works well enough through an effective assemblage of familiar and tried-and-true genre nuts-and-bolts. The acting isn't bad, either, and neither are the visual effects. This is certainly the least of the Cloverfield films, but the first two did set the bar fairly high out of the gate; a little drop-off was all but inevitable. Paramount's Blu-ray does feature reference 1080p video and one of the most intense Atmos audio soundtracks on the market. Extras include two featurettes that together run about 30 minutes in length. Recommended.