Nope (2022) Dir: Jordan Peele
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Jordan Peele's third feature film was his most outlandish venture yet. I loved his previous two horror films; 'Get Out' and 'Us', which are both already considered modern classics of the genre. My expectations were, as such, pretty high for this one - and the film's positive critical response gave me more more reason for optimism.
I was really satisfied by the visuals of the film. I think it had some very nice shots, particularly the night time scenes, which looked very pretty. The CGI was also pretty good, considering the scale and design of what the film was depicting. You could really tell that this was Peele's largest production budget yet.
The horror didn't quite hit the scary heights of Peele's previous two films, but there were still some pretty unnerving moments throughout. I have to admit, the scene with the chimpanzee was genuinely quite terrifying. That aside, I think this film was more about science fiction than it was bogstandard horror.
I enjoyed the narrative, but I would definitely say it was the weakest I've seen from the director so far. It has its moments, but it's main plot is not it's best feature. Symbolism was the film's major strength, with animals, balloons and even filmmaking itself serve as intriguing allegories of something more.
Daniel Kaluuya is one of my favourite actors working today. I think he's immensely talented, and this was evident once more here. His character was quite understated, but Kaluuya still evoked plenty of emotion. This was another very good acting display from him.
Keke Palmer provided a pretty strong performance in her key role. She had heaps of charisma, and her facial expressions were very effective - especially in the more tension-laiden scenes. I enjoyed her persona a lot, and I thought that the way she and Kaluuya portrayed their character's relationship was believable and wholesome.
Brandon Perea was the most noteworthy member of the supporting cast, but his character also felt a little bit forced into the film at times. As far as the rest of the cast goes, the likes of Michael Wincott, Steven Yeun, Wrenn Schmidt and Keith David, also deserve mentions.
Overall, this may be the weakest of Jordan Peele's films thus far, but it was still a really solid piece of cinema. The scenes where Peele lets horror reign are excellent, and the spectacle of the sci-fi story was as fascinating as it was enjoyable. I'm glad I was finally able to watch this.
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