Shadow in the Cloud

There are so many things wrong with this movie. I rolled my eyes many times. Some parts were so dumb that i had to pause the movie in order to process what happened. The entire premise is ridiculous, and so many things that happen are absurd. Whoever made this doesn't understand the most basic laws of physics. And they overdid it with the message

having said all that, i was never bored. In fact, i was invested. And there is one, let's call it, subplot. That subplot doesn't seem to fit in this movie at all. And yet it was the most stupidly entertaining aspect of the movie. (1 viewing, 6/7/2021)

First things first, if you complain about unbelievable things happening in a movie about gremlins attacking an airplane, you need to have your opinion license permanently revoked.

"Shadow in the Cloud" is obviously meant to be viewed as a simple comic book style rip-roaring WWII adventure to be enjoyed like a cheeseburger or a pint of ice cream and not to be deeply analyzed for plot depth and realism. The hordes of egotists falling over themselves to prove how "above it all" they are need to loosen up and switch to decaff. Yes, absolutely ludicrous things happen in this movie, and that's what makes it fun! Is everyone really so hopped up on dopamine from constantly scrolling through social media that they can't let go and enjoy a zany movie?

Chloe Moretz' performance was captivating and thrilling from start to finish. These are the kind of roles she was born to play and it was clear that she had an absolute blast making the movie. The rest of the cast were clearly there to be functional, forgettable cardboard cutouts, and the energy of the movie would have suffered if they'd been directed to draw attention away from the main character.

I'm confident that in a decade this movie will be found on film lists under the heading "Cult movies that were despised on release". I'd love to see a sequel!

These days, calling something a B-Movie is almost like saying it gets a pass for being a poor film, and while I don't believe that, there are moments in the film Shadow in the Cloud that the filmmakers clearly wanted you to turn your brain off for. I've been a fan of Chloe Grace Moretz as an actress for many years. From her fun roles like Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass or her incredibly committed dramatic performance in Hugo, she showed that her range was capable of going much further. Not knowing anything about this movie, I banked on the lead actress and the premise being fun enough, but I think I got much more than I bargained for. Here's why this film was both great and terrible all at once.

After sneaking on board a plane for mysterious reasons, Maude Garrett (Chloe Grace Moretz) will stop at nothing to protect her classified cargo. Taking place in a single area of the plane for the entirety of the first and second acts, Shadow in the Cloud held my attention very much. Where this film began to lose me was in the very, very over-the-top crew members she had to speak to throughout the film. The level of obnoxiousness was far too much for a movie like this and then the final act hit and it honestly became a completely different movie. It's been a while since I've seen a film switch gears as hard as this one did.

Having just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, I'm trying to wrap my head around how they're even going to market this film to the average moviegoer. For the most part, it takes place in a single location, and when it leaves that location to become a completely different movie, it sort of ruins the shock value of the final act to actually include that stuff in a trailer. Having no idea what this movie was before going in, I must say that I went through numerous emotions throughout. From being invested in the drama in the first act to raising an eyebrow for where it's about to go, to being completely taken out of the movie by the ridiculously over-the-top finale, it's going to be very hard to recommend this one to anyone.

Chloe Grace Moretz gives a damn good performance here, having about 95% of the movie to herself. By the third act, this movie just straight-up becomes a cartoon and I just thought to myself that she is far too good for a movie like this. Maybe the filmmakers knew exactly what movie they were making and knew that they wanted to create some schlock to close out the movie, but Shadow in the Cloud in turn just feels like a bunch of random ideas smashed into one film. I'm truly not sure who the audience for this film will be.

In the end, it's very clear that writer/director Roseanne Liang set out to make some obvious messages throughout the movie, which is what I feel the whole film was going for, but I thought it was way too heavy-handed, especially for the popcorn movie it becomes by the end. The best thing I can say about this film is that the central performance is great and the film is never boring, as it's 83-minute run time does fly by. The problem is that this movie evolves into something that's just too much for itself to handle. I got a huge kick out of certain elements, which is enough for me to give the film a passing grade overall, but it's not a great movie by any means. There are things to have fun with, but the over-the-top nature is simply overdone.

Imagine a double feature. Imagine taking the powerful, claustrophobic WWII drama "Das Boot" (1981) and immediately following it with "Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus" (2009). Afterwards you can bet the cleaning crews will be scraping rancid vegetables off the movie screen all night. And, from the look of most reviews on imdb, that's how many viewers reacted to this flick.

"Shadow in the Cloud" is really 2 different movies, and if you plan on riding it all the way through without a dumpster full of rotten produce, you have to realize when it shifts. The first act is a powerful, minimalist drama which is really along the lines of "Das Boot" (a tense drama set entirely in a dark, cramped submarine). The entire first part of "Shadow" is just Chloë Grace Moretz stuck in a cramped 5ft square ball turret on the belly of a B-17 Flying Fortress. The camera remains exclusively on her as she delivers a fantastic performance that could've easily been a 1 act play.

But be prepared. Abruptly, the entire film shifts to an action packed popcorn flick. If you can swallow this, you'll have a wild ride all the way to the end. But if you continue expecting this film to be a heavy, realistic drama, you will certainly be as irritated as if a German U-Boat were to suddenly fly up into the sky and get eaten by a prehistoric shark. (For the record, I consider both "Das Boot" & "Mega Shark" to be masterpieces of cinematic genius.)

You may have noticed that I haven't said a word about the plot. That's deliberate. I was told to go into this film blindly, which I did, and maybe that's the key to swallowing all the twists, turns, and violations of the laws of physics that happen. I mean, hey, if we can accept that a dude can dress up as a bat with a Home Depot tool belt and save the world multiple times, why can't we have fun with a wildly inventive thriller set on a WWII airplane?

I read the synopsis before I realized Grace morritze is in it and I thought the premise sounded dreadful. After watching the trailer I thought I didn't have anything to lose by watching it. Turns out i lost brain cells, as it's laughably bad, so much so I had to watch it to the end, as I was incredulous and curious about wether it would improve, but it just got more odd.

I think it's meant to be 80's B movie bad, hence the heavy synth music and poor effects. I really hope that's the case as it just got weirder by the minute. Everything was poor; the script, the heavy handed misogyny, the acting (at one point Chloe reprimanded her colleagues for their remarks and she sounds like a teacher telling kids off, rather than an authoritive soldier), the effects (apart from the dog fights, they were cool), the storyline was terrible, just awful.

I really hope I missed something and this was supposed to be a homage to old camp ott 80's horror, because if not I'm concerned about everyone's career in this. I'm sure there was a message about the indomitable spirit of womanhood, "girls can do stuff now" and the lengths we will go to protect our own, despite the blatant sexism and misogyny we experience and the odds being stacked against us, but if so it was jammed right in our faces and we were bludgeoned with it.

It could also be viewed as a comedy as there are so many "oh, come on!" moments, my eyes rolled so hard they nearly popped out of my head. If you watch this do not take it seriously,, and you might just make it.