Is Netflix’s New Blockbuster a Flop?

Since its release in 1997, Netflix has brought the world numerous popular movies and television shows such as Beasts of No Nation, Orange is the New Black, Mudbound, and Stranger Things. The streaming site has redefined the way movies are released. Large production movies are no longer only aired in theaters, they are now released worldwide on streaming websites. Netflix has found a new addition to its short list of flops with its new film, The Cloverfield Paradox 

        The Cloverfield Paradox premiered on Feb. 4 on Netflix and it is the third installment of the science fiction-horror Cloverfield franchise. It follows the critically acclaimed films Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane. The movie was produced by famous movie producer J. J. Abrams, who is known for his work with the Star Wars and Star Trek films. 

         The film follows a crew of space cadets who are on a mission to provide Earth with infinite energy. The Earth is suffering from an energy shortage, and because of this war is breaking out. The space cadets fly out to a space station where they attempt to use a particle accelerator to tap into an infinite source of energy.  

         The film’s main character Ava, who is played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, left behind her husband to help fix the Earth’s energy shortage. Ava works with an international crew and attempts to save the world; but when the crew thinks they have finally finished the mission, a disaster breaks loose on the space station.  

         The movie was praised for its very unique marketing strategy. There were no advertisements shown for the movie until the day the movie was released. The only commercial for the movie was aired during The Super Bowl, and it let the audience know that the movie would only be available on Netflix after The Super Bowl concluded. The lack of marketing brought many people to Netflix to watch the movie, which made it one of the most talked about films of the year, according to Metacritic.  

         The Cloverfield Paradox succeeded in many different aspects. The movie also has high-end production with lots of scary and gory special effects. The film is a host to a talented international cast of actors. Unfortunately, these actors were not given much to work with.  

         The great casting was overshadowed by an unorganized mix of genres and story lines that are slightly touched on. The script is underwritten and has undeveloped characters along with multiple unsolved plot holes and unexplained plot elements littered throughout the movie. Some of the elements are interesting but most of them are confusing and undeveloped. The movie does not seem like it is related to the first two movies of the franchise except for the last scene of the movie and that was only twenty seconds long. Due to all these different aspects, the movie gained a 16 percent on the movie critic website Rotten Tomatoes.  

         The Cloverfield Paradox used its unique and mysterious marketing strategy to bring in a large audience. The movie takes advantage of this strategy and the fact that it is an associated with the Cloverfield franchise to attract viewers but was ultimately unable to live up to its predecessors or satisfy its viewers.