Many fans were blindsided during this year’s Super Bowl when the trailer for “The Cloverfield Paradox” dropped. Originally titled “God Particle” and set to have a theatrical release, Paramount sold the film to Netflix, who subsequently released it after the big game. While announcing the imminent release of a film during the most broadcasted television event in America seems like a good, albeit unorthodox idea, no amount of hype could have saved the convoluted mess that is “The Cloverfield Paradox.”

Julius Onah’s film features a talented cast with leading lady Gugu Mbatha-Raw, followed by Daniel Brühl, David Oyelowo, John Ortiz, Elizabeth Debicki, Ziyi Zhang and Chris O’Dowd. From a technical standpoint, the film is a quality production; the visuals, lighting and especially Bear McCreary’s musical score are all standout elements. However, the story and narrative are where the film truly falls apart.

Set in a seemingly not too distant future, the film introduces us—via a lengthy exposition dump—to a run of the mill doomsday scenario. The earth is running out of energy, World War III looms on the horizon and only a small group of international scientists aboard a space station can save the day with a particle accelerator that can potentially provide an unlimited source of energy.

Of course, the experiment goes horribly wrong and from there the film takes us on a frantic dimension-hopping journey. The film suffers from unexplained scientific jargon, predictable jump scares, shoehorned one-liners and the generic “who’s going to die next?” formula of sci-fi thrillers.

An interesting concept that the film played around with is the multiverse theory. In the film’s opening, we see a crackpot conspiracy theorist, played by Donal Logue, claim the particle accelerator could tear the fabric of space and time and unleash horrors unknown into our world. Though not explicitly stated, fans have speculated this usage of the multiverse theory could finally explain the connection between the three Cloververse films and could provide insight into the upcoming entry into the franchise, which is to be set during WWII.

Unfortunately, the writers also seemed to view the multiverse theory as a means to play fast and loose with the laws of physics, bringing Murphy’s Law into full effect with a slew of plot holes and unexplained occurrences that befall the team aboard the space station.

By selling the film to Netflix, Paramount luckily dodged a box office flop. Considering the large fanbase the Cloverfield franchise has developed, it’s a shame the film didn’t live up to the hype built by its predecessors. “God Particle” could have been far better off as a stand-alone sci-fi film without being a part of the awkwardly threaded Cloververse. Despite the talented cast and great score, “The Cloverfield Paradox” proved to be severely underwhelming and left fans questioning the future of the franchise.