Nope Movie Reveiw

Nope (2022)

Rent Nope on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Jordan Peele
Directed by: Jordan Peele
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Keith David, Michael Wincott, Brandon Perea
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
The residents of a lonely gulch in inland California bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.

Verdict
I didn't like this as much as Peele's other movies, but it's still really good and certainly a step above other horror movies. Like his previous movies, it's infused with meaning and depth. It's a well crafted horror movie that is expert at creating tension and relies on an uneasy mood. Peele has set the bar so high with his movies that this suffers the consequences as the idea and execution isn't as good as his previous two movies.
Watch It.

Review
The first scene is quite the opening. I wondered if what it seemed to be was the scene in reality. From there we're on a ranch where common objects start falling from the sky. What's in the sky and what to do about it is the plot of the movie.

Daniel Kaluuya plays OJ

OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) trains horses for movies and television. The ranch is struggling financially, causing OJ to sell his horses to Jupe (Steven Yeun). Jupe's backstory intersects with the opening scene, but I wasn't sure how that related to the main plot. Is it just making the point that wild animals, like horses, when caged sometimes lash out? 

OJ and his sister Em (Keke Palmer) decide to capture this thing in the sky on video so that they can capitalize on it. Jupe also wants to profit off this object in the sky. That's the point this movie is making, people will try to capitalize in a given situation despite inherent and obvious danger.

OJ's experience training horses comes into play in the final act. I do like how he reacts to seeing the monster, he shuts the door and states, "Nope."

Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya, Steven Yeun play Em, OJ, Jupe

With this object in the sky, the natural reaction is to not just look at it, but to stare. You want to figure out what it is. In this case, looking at it causes it to attack. You have to resist the natural instinct. No one can turn away. We've seen time and again people should run, but they don't. Why? So they can get a video, be famous, or sell tickets. People want to shoot the video, that's who gets famous. No one knows the person in the first movie, but they know who filmed it.

Peele's other movies explore an idea, but they're a bit more nuanced. With Peele, given his sketch show background, the way he captures tension is so efficient. The problem with this movie is that the idea isn't quite as focused. That and he's set the bar for himself so high with Get Out and Us. This suffers precisely because his other movies are so good. Peele provides his horror movies with meaning and depth, something that genre isn't known for possessing.