The Cloverfield Paradox Review: 6 Ups & 4 Downs

2. The Tonal Shifts Are Jarring & Weird

The original Cloverfield movie executed its shifts in tone surprisingly well, melding humour and terror to create an innovative rollercoaster ride of a movie.

10 Cloverfield Lane was meanwhile a generally more serious film with light doses of levity, yet The Cloverfield Paradox attempts to hew closer to the goofier tenor of the original film, and doesn't quite pull it off.

Perhaps the biggest issue is Chris O'Dowd's wise-cracking character. O'Dowd is an hilarious comedian, no doubt, but his quipping is ultimately too frequent and ends up feeling wildly out of place at times.

It doesn't help that many of the jokes simply don't land, which is especially awkward as they often serve as comic relief following some incredibly serious moments.