Movie Review: Shadow in the Cloud

credit: Shadow in the Cloud

It’d be nice to say something uplifting and positive about this movie, considering that a lot of us like Chloe Grace Moretz, but while this was an action-packed thrill ride, it still didn’t feel complete somehow. In fact, it almost felt as though it needed a couple of elements that might have pushed it over the top and into the ‘great’ territory rather than the moderate, tepid thriller it turned out to be. Moretz felt as though she was dialing it in, while the other actors in this movie felt like they were only halfway involved and could have been cut out entirely if the need had arisen. It’s not possible to say that this was a complete failure, but the fact that there was only one creature responsible for the destruction and ill fortune that befell the crew in this movie is kind of, well, hokey. True, if one creature could do that much damage, then a horde of them would have torn the plane to bits, but all the same, it felt as though it was building up to make Moretz look like a one-woman army that could take on anything. This isn’t quite how things went down, but there’s still that feeling. 

credit: Shadow in the Cloud

There’s no doubt that the misogyny is laid on heavily, but it ends rather quickly. 

To be sure, guys back in this time weren’t all gentlemen, any more than guys are now. But the manner in which the derisive comments are laid out and the fact that the men shut off the hateful talk so quickly doesn’t feel natural at all since it implies that they’re following cues and not acting as though they’re in the moment. There are moments when it feels as though they’re finally getting into the story, but throughout the majority of this movie, the disembodied voices that the men provide aren’t much to think about since this movie is quite obviously focused on Chloe’s character, which isn’t a bad thing until it becomes obvious that she’s a badass just awaiting her moment to shine. The buildup to this is interesting, to be fair, since the time she spends in the turret is tense, and it does introduce the supernatural element of this story. 

The flow of this story feels a bit rough, but that could be by design. 

One has to remember that the crew is stuck on a plane in midair and doesn’t have a lot of room to maneuver, especially when there’s a creature intent on damaging the aircraft for whatever purpose that might suit it. Plus, there’s a baby on board, literally, which only ups the danger level as the plane is being shot at by Japanese pilots and therefore being chewed apart left and right as the crew struggles to survive. While Moretz manages to hit one of the planes, knocking it out of the sky, she’s shown to be a superhero by being able to cling to the underside of a plane while fighting off a gremlin to save her child. Yeah, it gets that crazy, and while it shouldn’t be judged too harshly, it’s fair to say that there is a line that a lot of fans don’t want to cross. 

credit: Shadow in the Cloud

There’s no rhyme or reason for the gremlin.

A lot of people want to know why something is happening, why certain characters or creatures appear, and what in the world they have to do with the story. A common saying back in this era was that a gremlin could be responsible for faulty aircraft, failing systems, or just about anything a person wanted to blame them on. But this creature, which is ugly as hell and doesn’t appear to have any reason to be on the plane other than to cause mayhem, is something that doesn’t appear to fit in the story, even though it was a main part of the story. For whatever reason, this creature doesn’t appear to have a solid place in the movie, and yet it becomes one of the focal points that take up a great deal of screen time. In the end, it’s not even close to being impressive since Chloe’s character takes it out with minimal effort on her part. 

All in all, this movie was likable but not entirely memorable. 

It’s tough to say this about a movie starring Chloe Grace Moretz but the fact is that this movie could have been a lot better had it used the elements at its disposal in a slightly different manner. It’s tough to say how this could have been done, but there were moments that could have been improved upon by a tweak in the dialogue or the action. At the end of the day, though, this was a decent movie to watch when there’s nothing else on.