I got to see Jordan Peele's NOPE a little early and while I'm still trying to process and understand everything that happened in the film, I would say it might be my least favorite film from Peele.
Peele returns for this third directorial film (behind Get Out and Us) and if you're expecting the social horrors/thrillers that were his previous films then you might want to adjust your expectations, which isn't a bad thing.
To be honest the film felt more like a science-fiction version of Jaws and the Spielberg homages run deep throughout the film and it might be the one film you actually NEED to watch in IMAX to truly appreciate everything that went into making the film.
Here are some of my initial, SPOILER-FREE, thoughts on the film and what stood out to me just in case you need more (or less) incentive to watch it:
- Daniel Kaluuya is once again fantastic in his portrayal of OJ Haywood, but NOPE is truly Keke Palmer's film as Em Haywood and she is the true heartbeat of the film whereas Kaluuya is the film's lone cowboy.
- Brandon Perea might be the side character who stole every scene he was in so expect him to pop up in more things after this film.
- Like Get Out and Us, there are underlying messages to this film that I'm also still trying to fully process so you might spend a good 30 minutes after the film looking up "Explained" articles.
- There are some scenes that I didn't fully understand how they pertained to the main plot of the film, but further analysis is required!
- NOPE isn't as "scary" as Get Out and Us, but there is one scene in the film the genuinely had everyone in our theater yelling "nope" and was goosebump-inducing!
- The sound design in this film might be the most chilling aspect of the film and at one point it felt like the sound happening in the movie was happening in our theater in real life.
- There are NO end-credits scenes! Like the other Jordan Peele movies once the credits roll you are good to go; however, I will say the credits fly by when you're trying to process everything that happened in the film!
Watch my full review for NOPE below:
I'm giving NOPE 7.7 out of 10 flying saucers and while it might be my least favorite Jordan Peele movie to date, I still think it's a spectacle worth seeing just for the filmmaking aspect alone! NOPE is in theaters now!