Nope – A Saucer Full of Secrets (Early Review)

After the cancellation of his popular and critically acclaimed sketch-comedy series Key & Peele with long-time friend and artistic collaborator Keegan Michael-Key, Jordan Peele announced that he would be turning to filmmaking. Many expected his directorial debut to be a comedy in line with his work on Key & Peele. Little did anyone know that in February of 2017, Peele would go on to redefine the horror genre as we know it and release one of the most important films of the 2010s, Get Out. Through combining uncomfortable satirical comedy, with surrealistic imagery and drawing upon the horrors of racism, Peele created a film that not only made a significant impact on cinema, but also on our culture.

In the years since its release, Get Out has undeniably become a stone-cold classic that becomes more important with each passing year. While the film was unanimously praised by critics and audiences, his follow-up Us received a more mixed reception. The film leaned further into the world of horror and left behind a lot of the satirical elements that made Get Out so unique. It was also far more cryptic in its messaging and required repeated viewings to get a firm read on what the film is truly about underneath the surface. While some will passionately disagree, Us belongs on the same pedestal as Get Out as it is one of the greatest horror films of the 2010s. Despite a slightly mixed reception, Us was a massive box office hit and allowed Peele to work with more than triple its budget on his third feature film, Nope.

Nope stars Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as brother and sister OJ and Emerald Haywood, the children of Otis Haywood Sr. (Keith Davi), owner of a successful California horse-ranch and the first and only in Hollywood to be owned by African Americans. While in the process of grieving their recently-deceased father and figuring out what to do with the ranch, the siblings encounter a mysterious force in the shape of a UFO that affects both human and animal behavior. With the help of a camera repair man named Angel Torres (Brandon Perea), the group aims to capture the mysterious force on tape and be the first to prove that outside life does indeed exist.

The first and most important thing for Jordan Peele fans to know before seeing Nope, is that unlike his previous two efforts, this film is not strictly a horror film. It is suspenseful at times and certainly has horror elements, but it falls more neatly into the world of science-fiction. The film also sees Peele revert to his comedic roots as the film is jam-packed with humor and carries a less serious, more irreverent tone more reminiscent of his work on Key & Peele. Its $68 million budget allows him to create a world that feels enormous in scope but grounded enough so that audiences can still connect to the film on a human level.

From a technical standpoint, Nope is an achievement worth celebrating. The sound design in particular is so immersive and commanding to the point where its vibration shakes the entire theatre. It is worth paying extra to watch the film in IMAX or Dolby AVX for the auditory experience alone. While this film does have some spotty VFX at times, the flying saucer itself is brilliantly designed and is quite a marvel to behold as its appearance is made clearer over the course of the film. At its roots, Nope is a summer blockbuster with an old school feel as it aims to make audiences leave with the feeling that they witnessed a spectacle not quite like anything they had seen before, regardless of their feelings on the film as a whole. It’s almost Spielbergian in the sense that it’s intended to deliver a sense of “movie magic” that transports audiences to another world.

While Nope is an intriguing watch and a somewhat worthy addition to Peele’s impressive catalog, it doesn’t quite reach the heights of his earlier work. With those films, Peele could extract complex, brilliant work from his actors in the past, whether it was Kaluuya’s emotive performance in Get Out, or Lupita Nyong’o’s terrifying turn in Us. Nope features some fine work from its cast, but it’s nothing extraordinary. That being said, Palmer is given a platform to showcase her comedic chops as Emerald Haywood and a lot of the films’ funniest moments are in debt to her. Meanwhile, Kaluuya’s restrained and grounded approach as OJ Haywood is a nice counter to Palmer’s more theatrical performance. Yeun and Perea as Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park and Angel Torres were both disappointing with both tending to cross the fine tonal line the film is attempting to walk thus diminishing the impact of certain suspenseful scenes involving their characters.

However, the ultimate issue with Nope was with its script. Peele focuses so much of energy on directing, that he leaves a lot to be desired from a screenwriting standpoint. There are some serious holes in the script that do a disservice to the surrounding film. While Peele should be commended for making films that require the audiences to do work by not tying all their ideas together in a neat package, the film leaves too many lose ends and doesn’t fully explore some of its ideas in a satisfying enough way. Get Out and Us have a tremendous sense of depth and are designed to discuss, analyze and dissect. Nope certainly has mysteries to be uncovered, but what it has to say isn’t nearly as profound or challenging as his previous work, which may leave some fans disappointed.

In the end, Nope is an entertaining summer blockbuster that is well worth the price of admission for its unique take on UFO flicks and its groundbreaking technical elements.

*still courtesy of Universal Pictures*

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Tristan French