NOPE (2022)


NOPE (2022)

Tagline: Nope

(Sci-Fi, Horror, It’s Aliens Isn’t It?) [R]

Nahum 3:6: I will cast abominable filth upon you, make you vile, and make you a spectacle.

In this one, out of nowhere objects start falling from the sky and end up killing OJ and Emerald Haywood’s father. OJ stays at the family’s ranch training horses for Hollywood movies, but times are tough. Upon his sister's return strange events lead the Haywoods to attempt to capture video footage of what they believe is a UFO terrorizing the small western community they live in. It’s going to take all they have and the help of a Fry’s Electronics technician and an eccentric photographer. 

First off, according to director Jordan Peele, this movie was influenced by KING KONG, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, SIGNS, and WIZARD OF OZ. You can clearly see where these movies definitely did impact the film. I would probably also throw in LAKE PLACID and WAR OF THE WORLDS. Not to give too much away, but both LAKE PLACID and NOPE have a similar character trying to tame the unknown and untamable.

With elements touching on the concepts of how much we are enticed by “spectacle” and have pushed aside a lot of inconvenient history to create certain narratives, this movie has its underlying messages. Most movies do if you are willing to dig a little. I also think there is some “wrath of God” anti-sin type stuff in here, but I am not going to get into that, to avoid giving spoilers. On the surface though, this is a beautifully shot movie with some incredible acting. I will get to that in a moment. The movie also feels like a love letter to the 1950’s flying saucer flicks like EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS and IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE. NOPE is definitely a horror flick but most of the “horror” elements for me are actually crammed into a secondary backstory that offers a window into Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park’s motives. That back story is haunting, at least in the way this film presents it. I loved that this movie leaves a lot to the imagination and doesn’t go overboard with gore. 

Acting wise this is a ridiculously strong outing for Keke Palmer as Emerald Haywood. I loved her character and I loved her performance. I have been following her career off and on since AKEELAH AND THE BEE, but haven’t watched any of her recent films. Daniel Kaluuya does an okay job as OJ. I love his character, but Kaluuya plays him super flat. It felt like most of the movie he was just sort of checked out and uninterested in being on set. I am not sure if that was on purpose or not? I would imagine you would be a bit stoic for a while after having a family member die. This was only Brandon Perea’s second acting credit. He plays Angel and for a character, I didn’t like at first, I really end up liking him quite a bit. It was good to see Steven Yeun in this. His performance as Ricky ‘Jupe” Park was solid. We also get a bit of Michael Wincott as Antlers Holst. Antler’s Holst is the type of dude you want to do an Old Testament audio bible or to read you the Declaration of Independence. The dude's voice is fantastic. 

If I have any issues with this thing is that they almost seemed to try too much to cram some horror in here when we could have had a straight-up sci-fi flick without the creepy backstory for Gordy (a Chimpanzee).  Having said that, taking away that layer may have made this too one-dimensional so what do I know. I do think maybe reducing the run time might have helped. We get a lot of exposition, but the film still feels overly slow in parts. 

Overall I would watch this thing again and thought it was a very strong movie overall with a great ending. I have to give this a 5 out of 7. It’s a really fun, yet tense and intriguing summer movie.

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