I don’t think Nope will be the last movie I have in my alien encounters theme week. That being said I will safely say that I loved Nope. This is most definitely one of the most original alien movies I’ve ever seen let alone what I’ve watched this past week. I went in as blind as possible which is the way I recommend going into the movie.
This was Jordan Peele’s third movie as writer and director. Nope is his most straightforward movie, though I’m sure there’s more there if you want to dig into it. There’s everything to do with animals that could be examined alongside just movies in general. Peele isn’t afraid to go for it when it comes to gore because this has some of the most gruesome moments I’ve seen in a film in sometime. He also has a knack for writing characters that you enjoy as well as casting the perfect person for that role.
Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott, and Keith David star. Kaluuya and Palmer make an amazing pair in Nope as the Haywood siblings. I had thought Palmer was more of the primary protagonist, but she serves more as the secondary protagonist. Kaluuya was in that role with you following him more throughout the movie. Perea is a highlight as one of the people drawn into the sibling’s world. Yeun’s performance is incredibly nuanced with his character’s backstory. After seeing Nope I now want a spoken word album from Wincott.
The effects in Nope are amazing. I’ll go into mild spoilers for the next bit so skip to the next paragraph if you want to be unspoiled. The effects for Gordy the chimp are amazing on par with the best mo-cap from the Planet of the Ape prequels. That’s not even mentioning everything to do with the alien. Whoever designed the fully unfurled alien made a work of art. The music from Michael Abels is fan-fucking-tastic. The score he made for the film made the already tense atmosphere even more tense.
Nope is not what you expect it to be but is a hell of a fun time if you keep an open mind. I understand why the fan that Jordan Peele shutdown said what he did, even if that whole exchange made me love Peele even more than I already did. Nope was shot in IMAX and if you can I’m sure that would be the most optimal way of seeing the movie but just being able to see it in theaters is amazing and I would advise it. I give Nope 9.5 wacky waving inflatable tube men out of 10.