I have been trying to make sense of 10 Cloverfield Lane for months, from the moment I saw the title of this movie at the end of its trailer. And after seeing the movie I’m still searching for answers.
Hinting at a connection between this movie and Cloverfield was probably not the best idea that J.J. Abrams has had. Cloverfield massively disappointed me. It seemed like a great concept, putting the camera in the middle of monster-created chaos, but Cloverfield ended up being your typical found footage crapfest from start to finish. So to suggest this is a sequel or prequel or some other form of spinoff was a weird choice, especially because the trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane contained no hint of a connection between it and Cloverfield other than the similar name (and thankfully also contained NO FOUND FOOTAGE).
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
The common name is not a coincidence but it was a terrible idea. It ruined what might otherwise have been a nice twist two-thirds of the way through 10 Cloverfield Lane. To paraphrase Shakespeare, this same movie by a different name would have been just as mediocre, but at least the title wouldn’t have tipped off the audience that there was more outside the bunker to be afraid of than a lady with a melted face.
So if you’re making this movie, why tip your hand in the title? Does the Cloverfield brand really have that much value? Am I the only one who disliked that movie? I mean, I totally hated The Visit and others apparently thought it was good. So I’m open to the possibility that a similar thing happened with Cloverfield, but I would be surprised. Tell me whether or not you’re with me in the comments but know that I’m judging you based on your response.
[END SPOILERS]
It felt good to get that out of my system and now I think I can focus on 10 Cloverfield Lane as its own movie. In two words: don’t bother. The group of 13 year old girls sitting behind us couldn’t take it seriously and neither could I. There are way too many disparate elements at work and as a result the movie is disjointed from beginning to end. There’s nothing remotely redeeming or original here.
If end-of-the-world movies were drinks, 10 Cloverfield Lane would be a glass of three random types of bar-rail liquor, served to guests without a taste test. So it’s only fitting that 10 Cloverfield Lane gets a score of three bottles of cheap scotch out of ten.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
The most entertaining thing about 10 Cloverfield Lane? This review. 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
I didn’t read the spoilers in the off chance I see it…on video! Thanks for the review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice one! I didn’t hate Cloverfield, but I did see it in the cinemas and it made me feel terribly sea-sick. I’ll probably never see this, but my partner did and had the same feelings, as if the whole Cloverfield element had been tacked on at last minute. I don’t think I can be bothered!
LikeLike
Yes, it really did feel like they just threw in the Cloverfield stuff!
LikeLike
It felt too much like 2 different movies to me – I could almost get behind the bunker stuff, in the first 3\4 but the stuff outside of it…the difference in tone was just too great and it really made the movie take a hit.
LikeLike
Your review is funny because I’d just heard on the radio this Friday the movie man reviewing this movie and he raved about it! Lol! Said it was well acted and scary and sang all kinds of high praise. I had no intentions of seeing it and my tastes tend to fall more in line with you guys so I’m not surprised you think it’s disappointing. 😉
LikeLike
I thought the acting was fine. Both John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead are good, as the always are, but they couldn’t save this movie.
As an aside, it seems like a lot of people forget how amazing John Goodman is, and that’s too bad. Especially because it probably means they haven’t seen enough Coen brothers movies!
LikeLiked by 1 person
So true! He is so talented!
LikeLike
I definitely agree the acting’s good but I think the story didn’t quite hold up. The first 3\4 of the movie isn’t bad, it’s just a bit wobbly, but then last 1\4 is such an abrupt change that it really ruined it for me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have no desire to see this other than knowing if he was actually saving her from the ugly monster which is probably the case. I was “meh” about the first film. The Visit sucked! I hate that stupid flick
LikeLiked by 1 person
Unfortunately the movie doesn’t leave any mystery about the goals of John Goodman’s character, which was another misstep in my view. More ambiguity would definitely have upped the suspense and made for a better movie.
LikeLike
I felt like his motivations were too murky for good story telling.
LikeLike
on the ‘miss it’ list, cheers 🙂
LikeLike
I plan to see this today, so I skipped the spoiler part of your post. I’ll have to come back and read it after I’ve seen the movie. See if I agree. (Which I usually do!)
LikeLike
Uh oh, I really liked this one. (I didn’t like the first one much.) I hope you won’t hold it against me…
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m really only judging people based on love/hate of the original Cloverfield 😉
This one, my main problem was the Cloverfield tie as it felt not only unnecessary but pretty much gave away the ending. I was indifferent at best about the movie itself as a stand-alone film but it didn’t disappoint me like the original Cloverfield. I guess the shared name was beneficial in that one respect, as the Cloverfield tie lowered my expectations to zero going in to this one.
LikeLike
You’re right–it did give away the ending.
LikeLike
I didn’t see the first, but I still feel like the ending ruined this movie for me. I wish that the minute the movie exited the bunker, the credits rolled and we never saw anything else.
LikeLike
I have to agree to disagree with you. The unclear narrative is what engages the audience. J.J. Abrams is the king of mystery so personally i thought to keep the viewer guessing right the way through, making us constantly reconsider what we though, worked really well. In saying this I do think if you watched the film without watching the original, trying to stay as cold as possible, it’d make the film ten times better.
Although yep, the original was awful
LikeLike
My main gripe is that the title spoiled the ending. I knew from the title that there were going to be aliens outside the bunker. If that reveal had come as a surprise I think I would have liked this movie more.
LikeLike
Yeah completely agree. I think they just knew Cloverfiled was a major box office success so creating a spin off to it, they would definitely make money. Bad from a film makers perspective, as it just completely ruins the ending though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: The Cloverfield Paradox | ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES