'Nope' (2022) Movie Review | Rhetter.com
Jordan Peele's 'Nope' (2022) Movie Review
by Rhett Rhodes
*some spoilers*
As someone who is a fan of movies and stuff, I really suck at knowing what is supposed to be coming out soon and I guess I managed to let the existence of 'Nope' fly right by me. But, it's never too late. I was driving back home from the bank last week when I looked at the local theater in my town and saw that this movie was going to be playing. After looking it up and seeing it was Jordan Peele's newest film, I really couldn't believe I didn't even know about it! Thank god I decided to Google it or I would've missed it until a DVD or Blu-Ray release months later.
Just like with Get Out, (note: as of this post I still have not seen Peele's second film 'Us') I had no idea what to expect out of this film. Of course I had seen the trailers and studied the poster for minutes on end, I just knew that the film was going to possibly be about an alien/aliens that attack a horse ranch. And you know what? That's essentially what the film was!... But in a little different, several shocking, often creepy, funny, and extraordinary ways.
Not only was it the fact that it was Jordan Peele's latest efforts, I was instantly ecstatic to go to the theaters for this one as I saw of course that Daniel Kaluuya was once again the lead role. (Kaluuya was not in Peele's film Us sadly. But he was the star of Get Out!) Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, and Brandon Perea star as well as Michael Wincott, who in my opinion had one of the most intriguing roles on screen as he plays a well known and a bit extra terrestrial obsessed cinematographer that's hired by Palmer and Kaluuya's characters named Antlers Holst. Kaluuya and Palmer play OJ and Emerald Haywood, the great-great ancestors of the man who is seen riding the horse in the famous 1878 'The Horse In Motion' which is to this day known as the first 'motion picture' ever created. I thought that whole storyline made the film even more extremely interesting and fascinating in many ways. Reminds me a bit of the historical (but often altered) story arcs of Tarantino's 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' and 'Inglorious Basterds'; Matt Johnson's 2016 film 'Operation Avalanche'.
OJ and Emerald, or 'Em' as she's often referred too throughout the film, are the owners of a horse ranch that work with Hollywood productions as professional handlers of their horses on the sets. But, they are fired from a job by the cinematographer I mentioned earlier Antlers Holst after OJ's horse is startled by a crew member and the horse kicks the actress. This causes them to be even more financially terrible so they sell some of their horses to Yeun's character Ricky, a.k.a. 'Jupe' throughout the movie as he runs a theme park called 'Jupiter's Claim'. Jupe used to be a child actor that worked on a fictional sitcom called 'Gordy's Home' and while on set working with an animal actor chimpanzee back in 1998 during a taping of the show, the chimpanzee becomes enraged when a helium balloon pops loudly and it attacks and essentially kills three co-stars and attacks the crew as well. The chimp finds Jupe hiding under a table and while trying to give him a calm fist bump, the chimpanzee is shot in the head and killed by authorities.
While watching the film, I thought that those cut-away clips to 1998 during the chimpanzee incident that randomly occur and shows more and more of what happened was pretty unique. I mean, the movie literally begins with a small part of the incident shown so immediately you are confused and wonder if you'll see more of that to see what it was all about; and you do off and on, but as some may find this confusing and annoying, I enjoy it for the fact that it's non-traditional for a 'Hollywood' film and made the film even more original and different than his previous two efforts.
The phenomenal, eerie, and downright fitting music score for this film was done by none other than Michael Abels who also did the scores and music for Get Out and Us, respectively. I found that it was incredible this time around for Nope, and one of my favorite Michael Abels pieces written and recorded for this film was the 'Jupiter's Claim' theme because of its original Western 'old-timey' feel and tone.
When the lights at the Haywood Ranch begin to flicker ominously, both OJ and Em see a UFO fly over the ranch and soon begin to construct their own investigation on the matter. After more sightings, OJ concludes that it isn't just a UFO, but it itself IS the alien; predatory creature. Now, using the help of Wincott's character Antlers Holst, who obviously brings a non-electrical camera and equipment with him, they have many attempts at catching the creature on camera; somehow, someway, and anyway possible. So let me tell you, one of my favorite parts is that at Jupiter's Claim there is a wishing well attraction that takes quarters and will take a photo of you from below in the well if you look down into it. At the end, Em scrambles finding quarters at Jupiter's Claim and quickly tries many times to catch a photo of the creature as it flies above her. She gets the photo in the nick of time after all their failed tempts before through out the film, and just before the creature eats a giant helium balloon that Em untethered earlier and it explodes after it's inside the monster.
After spoiling all that for everyone who read this, Jordan Peele once again proves to the world that he is not only an extremely funny human, but he's also just as normal as anyone else on the street and he can write and create successful imaginative films. Time and time again, often thought provoking and sure to leave you stunned as you walk out of the theater talking about everything you just saw with your friends or your date. This movie was insane, fun, and creepy in the theaters, and for a movie that's a little over two hours long, it really flies by and keeps your eyes glued to it. It's currently in theaters, but a Blu-Ray and DVD release is predicted by some to be this October, but it could definitely be sooner, maybe mid-September. Go see it anyway!
NOPE - 8.4/10 - Rhetter.com
- Rhett Rhodes
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