10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) Review

"You've got a lot of fight in you.  I respect that."
-Howard



After a bad car crash, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up in an underground doomsday bunker, belonging to Howard (John Goodman), an extremely paranoid and unstable man.  Howard claims to have saved Michelle's life by brining her into the bunker.  He says there has been some sort of chemical attack on the outside world and most of the planet is dead due to the contaminated air.  Michelle adapts to life in the bunker with Howard and Emmet (John Gallagher Jr.) another person Howard saved.  But Michelle is not sure if the real threat is outside, or if it's the bunker, trapped with her.


What Works:

Unlike the original Cloverfield, everything works in this movie.  First off, Michelle is an amazing protagonist.  She's clever, tough, resourceful, and resilient.  She doesn't ever trust Howard and is always trying to make an escape plan.  She's really relatable and makes this movie a joy to watch.

John Goodman is incredible as Howard.  An extremely complex man, he can be a total sweetheart one second, but terrifying the next.  It's underrated performance and one of Goodman's best.

John Gallagher Jr. is also great as the comic relief, but he also has some solid moments of character development.

The last thing I want to talk about here is the pacing.  10 Cloverfield Lane is about 100 minutes long, but it flies by.  The pacing is incredible.  There is never a dull moment, propelled by the writing and the suspense.  This movie is a real treat.


What Sucks:

I got nothing for ya.


Verdict:

10 Cloverfield Lane is one of the best movies of 2016.  It's a sequel that is better than the original in every way.  It gets everything right, from the performances, to the writing, and the directing, but most of all, the pacing.  10 Cloverfield Lane has undoubtedly got it going on.


 10/10: Amazing 

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