Count me amongst the disappointed too.
I unapologetically love the original Cloverfield. No hyperbole, it remains the most intense viewing experience Ive had in a movie theater. When it was apparent that 10 Cloverfield Lane was not a sequel, but that this was going to be an anthology movie series, I was quite pleased that they were leaving it alone. Because, honestly, how do you follow that up? Instead, I thought it was a great idea for these movies to be unrelated but to be singular unforgettable movie experiences, along with exciting mystery box hype, worthy of the Cloverfield name. To that end, I thoroughly enjoyed 10 Cloverfield Lane as well.
And now this. I was really looking forward to God Particle because I thought the concept would fit very nicely as the third Cloverfield entry. When it was announced during the super bowl that it was to be immediately available on Netflix, I was less excited and more puzzled. Didnt the first two movies perform pretty darn well at the box office in relation to their budgets? Were they not received well by critics? But hey, all a part of the Cloverfield mystique, right? Well........
I think its pretty safe to say that this movie would have bombed at the box office after a decent opening weekend. No way would it have had the staying power that 10 Cloverfield Lane did. So this was likely the best course for all involved, even Netflix. So why was it a disappointment? For me, I think its because now they are trying to awkwardly shoehorn in connections to the previous movies, but its obvious that these scripts had nothing to do with them in the first place. So instead, just focus on making them good. Most of the blame has to fall on Julius Onah. If we were ready to credit Dan Trachtenberg over Abrams (rightfully so) for Lanes success, then the failure has to mostly do with Onah. There have been so many sci-fi horror movies set in space, its as though he simultaneously never studied the great ones while stealing cliches from the bad ones.
Even the ending, which was supposed to be the crown jewel moment, was a dud for me personally. How much better would it have been to see a shot from their point of view, going through the clouds, and seeing what was underneath. Now THAT would have been something. I guess they had to save the CGI budget for a moving arm. And if that was a connection to the original, it was tenuous at best when you consider all of the inconsistencies. But I guess that was the point of the time-bending aspect. I dunno, just totally underwhelming.
Im not ready to give up on the franchise yet, but I do hope Overlord plays to its own strengths and doesnt bog itself down with universe building. If its a great movie, Cloverfield as a brand will be fine. Thanks for reading.
. Pretty schlocky and it was really obvious what scenes were tacked on to make the Cloverfield connection but still it was enjoyable. That marketing stunt tho :thumbsup:. Can't see anyone replicating that anytime soon.
