Netflix's Surprise Release Turned a Doomed Cloverfield Sequel Into a Must-Watch

The Cloverfield movies are science fiction, but what Netflix pulled off with the surprise post–Super Bowl launch of The Cloverfield Paradox is more akin to alchemy. A mere two days ago, the movie then known as God Particle was an oft-delayed entry in J.J. Abrams' amorphous franchise that had shifted more than a year from its initial release date--and was still undergoing reshoots as recently as December. While its predecessors, 2008's Cloverfield and 2016's 10 Cloverfield Lane, thrived on pre-release mystery, this was starting to feel less like calculated secrecy and more like a panicked flight. But with one brief, mildly cryptic ad, Netflix transformed an incipient lead balloon into a golden opportunity, a movie that no one was much excited about seeing into one they had to see the second the game was over. The Cloverfield Paradox was worth the wait, but only if you started the clock in the first quarter.