Nope is a 2022 American science fiction horror film written, directed, and co-produced by Jordan Peele under his Monkeypaw Productions banner. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott, and Brandon Perea, the film follows two horse-wrangling siblings who attempt to capture evidence of an unidentified flying object. Sounds good? It isn’t. The movie’s title tells you all you need to know about watching the movie. Should you watch it? NOPE.
Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” was a masterpiece – a movie which provided chills as well as made you think deeper. “Us” suffered from several flaws but was still bearable. “Nope” is in a class of its own with the worst plot and acting I have seen in quite a while. Daniel Kaluuya looks bored out of his mind, Keke Palmer’s job description apparently was to mimic every stereotypical portrayal of black women possible within the same character and Steven Yeun seems to be wishing for Negan’s bat to his head (like it was in the Walking Dead). Brandon Perea is just a lone latino who believes in UFOs and there is no backstory for any of the characters.
Nope fails because it doesn’t know what its goal is – is it to scare audiences? Is it to make them think? Because it fails in all these aspects. Boredom is a far stronger emotion during the movie. In terms of making audiences think, it does succeed if the goal was to make audiences question their life choices and why they decided to watch this dreadful movie in the first place. Yes, there are those on online review boards, who have decided that just because the movie is by a black director and has a diverse cast, it doesn’t have any flaws. Judging the quality of a movie is based on its entertainment value or its ability to make you question. If it does neither then its just a bad movie no matter who the cast is.
In terms of the UFO/Alien creature who sucks up humans but cannot digest metal, there is nothing special or scary about a creature (*Warning Spoilers) who resembles a jellyfish when fully open and a flying saucer when closed. The humans in its digestive tract could have been a horrifying scene but that too is left to imagination. Back stories for the characters are missing whereas Get Out provided us a rich history to understand characters better and resonate with them. Even “Us” made the characters stronger than “Nope”. Not only has Nope bored me to death, it has also made me get annoyed at the sight of horses (who I love).
The initial backstory of the chimp going berserk and attacking live audiences is a tribute to Siegfried and Roy and the exploitation of animals for human entertainment but this alien creature doesn’t raise those comparisons as it looks more like a machine than a creature. Even the entire backstory about Steven Yeun’s character doesn’t amount to anything as the alien devours him and his entire audience without any time for questions to be asked. Nope could have been a good movie had it eliminated these flaws and focused on thrilling audiences instead of trying to do everything Jordan Peele envisioned. The acting is average at best and if you are scared of this alien then the Alien franchise or Predator series is not for you. In terms of visual effects, you can go on Youtube and check out jellyfish videos to have a better sense of awe rather than wasting money streaming this.
JAY’S VERDICT
Enter the world of Nope at your own risk. Boredom and utter bewilderment await any man/woman brave enough to watch this.
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