Aksel Hennie – Podcasting Them Softly

So what exactly is The Cloverfield Paradox supposed to be about? A bunch of people on a spaceship that is spazzing out big time? I get what they were going for here, a cool cosmic origin story for the Lovecraftian genre-games of the other two films but this is one slapdash, nonsensical bit of silliness that doesn’t feel warranted or like it has its solid footing in the mythology of this story or simply being an effective SciFi horror at all. In an attempt to provide both backstory, context and texture to both the excellent Cloverfield and its subsequent sequel 10 Cloverfield Lane (which I also was disappointed by, but that’s for another review), this tells the story of an intergalactic mission to quell an incoming war on a distant planet by presenting an energy saving device. A crew from earth does their best but the invention ends up being a mistake, ripping a new orifice in time and space and and causing the forces of physics and reality to do some serious monkeying around. This offers up vague explanations for the monster in Cloverfield, the extraterrestrials in 10 Lane and *some* weird shit that happens in this one too but it’s never enough, never explained clearly and never seems as much fun as it should based on the potential of the overall premise. It’s a shame because they’ve given this thing the royal treatment in terms of casting, which includes Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Daniel Brühl, John Ortiz, Chris O’ Dowd, Aksel Hennie, Ziyi Zhang, Simon Pegg, Greg Grunberg, Donal Logue, Elizabeth Debicki and more. None of them really get much to do though and seem a bit lost in the uncharted stars of this underdeveloped narrative that tries to be dread inducing and Lovecraftian and just feels like a cosmic sinkhole of muddled missed opportunity. It’s starts off pretty good and the atmosphere of impending ‘something’ as they prepare to activate the device is palpable and exhilarating and then… it’s just loses steam quicker than I’ve ever seen based on the potential it had. Maybe it has something to do with being rushed into production to be released on the fly after a super-bowl game? That in itself is a great promotional idea and tremendously exciting but then at least make sure your film is as engaging and terrific as your marketing campaign because this thing has more issues than National Geographic. Pass.

-Nate Hill

You know those Sci-Fi movies where someone has a near miss, narrow escape or heroic encounter up in space and everyone down in the NASA control room leaps up, cheers and claps in collective catharsis? It’s a well worn narrative beat and can sometimes be an eye roll moment. Ridley Scott’s The Martian has several of these but because the characters and plot are so well drawn they feel earned, appropriate and exciting. That goes for the film itself as well, it’s a two and a half hour space epic that feels as breezy as a ninety minute quickie, an optimistic, human story of one man’s ultimate quest for survival and everyone else’s daring attempts to rescue him.

Scott is no stranger to darker, more austere stuff particularly in his Sci-Fi exploits, but he shines a bright light on the proceedings here, making a super complicated, science based story with many moving parts somehow seem light and carefree while also making a big emotional landing. Matt Damon is Mark Watney, astronaut, botanist, space pirate and celestial castaway, marooned on the red planet following a mission gone wrong and presumed dead by NASA and his crew, until he’s able to communicate. He grows potatoes using… homemade fertilizer, repairs a satellite and awaits rescue while everyone else faces moral and technical quandaries in their struggle to bring him home. NASA’s director (Jeff Daniels, smarmy but never an outright baddie) is reluctant to go all out and send another mission, the crew’s handler (Sean Bean, fantastically low key and against his usual tough guy image) wants to do right by them and inform their commander (Jessica Chastain). The earthbound commotion is nicely interlaced with Damon’s solo outings up there and somehow they edit the thing to both realistically depict the passing of time but also fly through the proceedings breathlessly. Scott casts his film with ridiculous talent including Kate Mara, Donald Glover, Michael Pena, Aksel Hennie, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristin Wiig and Mackenzie Davis.

Many people wrote this off as a good film but simply fluff, like an enjoyable but kind of inconsequential ride, or at least that’s the vibe I got from some reviews. I couldn’t disagree more. This type of story is exactly the kind of thing we need more of in this day and age. One could remark on the vast amount of effort, overtime hours and expenditure NASA puts in simply to bring one astronaut home, and whether or not it’s worth it (Jeff Daniels certainly has that thought cross his mind), but the truth is that it’s not about just Mark Watney, or just any one person stranded up there, it’s about what the actions and efforts signify, and how important that is, as well as the notable and extreme resilience on his part. This is a film that shows the best in human beings who are put in impossible situations, and how we might make ourselves, and those around us into better people. It’s a rollicking space flick speckled with incredible talent, hilarious comedy, scientific knowledge and has already aged splendidly since it’s release four years ago. Top tier Ridley Scott for me, and one of the best Sci-Fi films in decades.

-Nate Hill