Jordan Peele, meet M. Night Shyamalan.
The “Sixth Sense” director was once the toast of Hollywood before his films devolved into tortured “gotcha” exercises. Shyamalan has never been the same, creatively speaking, even if he occasionally teases a return to form a la 2016’s “Split.”
Can we expect a similar arc with Peele following his third film, “Nope?”
Even the best directors have clunkers on their resume – Steven Spielberg’s “1941” may be the best example. It’s how badly Peele orchestras his UFO thriller that should give even his greatest fans pause.
Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya stars as O.J. Haywood, son of a Hollywood-approved horse farmer at Haywood Ranch. His pappy (Keith David, in a micro-cameo that screams for more screen time) supplied horses for various TV and movie projects over the years. Now, the son is trying to follow his lead at the horse farm, aided by his headstrong sister, Emerald Haywood, or Em (Keke Palmer, in a grating performance).
A curious cloud collection above their ranch interrupts that quest.
There’s something peculiar in the sky formations, and it forces the Haywoods to consider its connection to both a family tragedy and their immediate survival.
That’s all audiences need to know going into “Nope” beyond the obvious. It’s a UFO thriller, full stop. Peele proved he could expertly arrange a film’s horror elements with “Get Out” and “Us,” so shifting to science fiction felt like a lateral move, talent wise.
Something sizable got lost in the shift.
RELATED: Jordan Peele’s Left-Leaning ‘Us’ Earns Its Progressive Chills
Let’s start with the Haywoods. Kaluuya earned an Oscar for his work in “Judas and the Black Messiah,” and his intensity is a welcome asset for any film. Or should we say “most” movies?
He’s a dullard here, moping around his farm and barely connecting with sister Em, who overacts as if to compensate for her brother’s charisma vacuum.
You’re rooting for their survival, of course, but barely by genre standards.
The story itself offers a slow-burn template without the details that keep us engaged. The father-son dynamic hinted at in the opening never blooms, nor is there much dramatic tension tied to their horse business.
Snore.
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The most arresting part of “Nope” has little to do with the actual story. We see, via flashbacks, how a cute animal went wild and destroyed the set of a ’90s TV show. It’s a terrifying sequence showing Peele at his instinctual best. And you could remove every second of it from the film and it wouldn’t change a thing.
“Nope” doesn’t lurch into “Worst Movie of the Year” material until the third act. The characters’ motivations prove elusive, as does any real sense of danger as a flying saucer enters the frame over the amusement park … and elsewhere. The finale drags on, and on, and the pay off is cartoonish and maddening.
Just make this movie stop. Please.
Secondary characters offer some respite, but even they are poorly integrated into the film. Veteran actor Michael Wincott suggests a subplot worthy of our inspection, but his character’s choices make no sense when it counts the most.
RELATED: ‘Antebellum’ Delivers Lectures, Not Thrills
“Walking Dead” alum Steven Yeun gets a curious role, one of many intriguing elements with little emotional payoff. Add in the curious images of a black jockey and nods to the first moving picture ever recorded. Fascinating and maddening all at once.
Peele helped pioneer a new wave of socially conscious, uniformly progressive horror. Previous directors used the genre to send both chills and a message. Think George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead,” the 1968 shocker that explored race relations in a way no other film could.
“Get Out” scorched liberal white guilt, among other contemporary issues, so effectively even liberal white film critics sang its praises. “Us” delivered a more complicated message about culture, class and social mobility. The scares weren’t as intense, but it proved a worthy follow-up to his breakthrough debut. Who doesn’t crave love letters to the horror genre, so often neglected by serious critics.
Neither film wallowed in its messaging. Peele shrewdly kept the story, and scares, top of mind. It’s something other artists routinely fail to do, and why each new Peele movie feels like an event.
“Nope,” for better and worse, offers little to any deeper meaning except one chilling note. Peele may not be the auteur we imagined.
Hit or Miss: “Nope” is more than one of the year’s worst films. It’s a sign Jordan Peele’s narrative instincts are betraying him … and us.
I’m a complete Dope for getting suckered in to see NOPE why did they make the trailer so epic. Imagine if your at a dance club you have no game so u stick the biggest cucumber down your pants to make the ladies think you got a horses …. she goes home with you thinking she is going to get a then realizes ur just an Average Joe trickery the first 40 minutes was a snoozer then the movie didn’t know if wanted to be a horror movie or an alien movie or a bad angels I’m still confused. Don’t be a dope and say Nope
I’ve seen a lot of bad movies in my time but this absolutely has to be one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. This is a movie of words strung together with no meaning, a movie somehow made with a total absence of acting, plots and subplots and scenes that have no relevance to anything, a pace that is so slow and a rhythm that is so off that you’ll sit there wishing you would either get scared or laugh or die of boredom or SOMETHING…. ANYTHING… in general this is just a horrible horrible movie. Need I mention the scary alien was a Giant floating cloth mushroom that was TRULY LAUGHABLE . These critics that are reading everything into this actual POS and trying so hard to make it a classic (or worse an intelligent film) are even more laughable than the movie itself. They’re obviously disingenuously doing everything they can to be politically correct and act like this overpaid undertalented Mess of a director is actually worth our while. Please please don’t waste your time this is 2 hours you will never get back. You could sit still and be more productive
Agreed. I couldn’t get invested when the entire cast were reacting as if a bear was terrorizing them and not a foreign, massive flying object that ate their horses, killed their father and appeared from the sky. No one was was as terrified as they should’ve been at all. It’s all very jokey
Now mix in the fact they stayed for potential money shot and not survival and the whole idea of the third act is neither survival nor hunt but… greed ?
EXACTLY THE POINT lol. Aren’t humans so weird in terms of the different ways they react to something???? Humans are complex!!! Not everybody grieves the same, not everybody thinks the same. Some peoples ambitions and situations influence the way they react. They’re desperate!!!! Selling their father’s horses for change and trying to get that impossible money shot! That is until Angel comes along and makes them think of a bigger picture beyond themselves, SAVING THE PLANET. Also this movie is a perfect depiction of how secret our government/ other higher powers can be!!! Outside of this movie, we have similar phenomena happening right now. But people who try to expose it are called crazy conspiracy theorist or just refuse to believe it. That’s why I love this movie so much. It gives us a visual on how human beings are so different.
P.S- You also can’t knock anyones interpretation down in regards to this movie. The way that Jordan Peele writes his scripts leaves room for different thoughts and ideas. Some people will receive the movie in a low frequency and other’s will receive it in a high frequency. It all depends on how much your brain allows you to understand.
Super bad movie, it doesn’t have story…
Did anyone think it was a giant butthole from Uranus just crapping on everything, I thought it was a comedy. I laughed out loud during a couple of scenes. Just a big anus in the sky pooping out stuff. Hilarious!
It seemed to shift from being a sheet to being a mushroom
They had Keke palmer running around like the most racist caricature of a modern day urban black woman you could think of, to the point of being “generalizingly” offensive. Daniel Kaluuya didnt even act the whole fucking movie, just sat there with glassy eyes. Motives are unclear and unexplained, they wanted to get on modern day ophrah? or some crap? The random filmmaker dude, the scene with the little kids, the monkey accident??? (one of the only entertaining parts but it doesnt make any sense) are incredibly random and remind you its a movie…The premise of “dont look up” or dont make eye contact at some demi-god outer space alien is perhaps the dumbest thing ive ever seen. Also the fact they literally use the “Nope” meme. People dont act like that in real life. Perhaps one of the worst films ever besides the concept
Keke was extremely obnoxious, all the dialogue was stilted and unnatural. All the characters were valid caricatures full of cliches and tropes. This movie wanted to be Signs so badly
I couldn’t understand the dialogue. My brother and I kept looking at each other and asking what the characters had said. I’m from the UK and I really struggle to understand what American actors are saying in the cold films nowadays. It’s almost as if they’re speaking a different language to me.
Well they might as well be to be honest…
It’s not just you Mr. Beams. I’m American and much of this film’s dialogue was foreign to me as well. I turned the subtitles on 10 minutes in. And to everyone else’s comments, yes, this is a very bad film.
It’s called cultural differences you guys!!! Humans tend to associate anything different with the notion that it’s “bad”. Then get frustrated and lash out when they don’t understand. I’m African American and I understood every single word. I feel like there might be a bit of over exaggeration here lol. If not, then I think this is a sign for you guy’s to branch out.
P.S- some black people talk differently when they are amongst other black people. (AKA the siblings Emerald and O.J) It’s a term called code-switching. Many other ethnicities do it too!
I’m curious about what nope meme you’re talking about? There is an interview with Daniel Kaluuya on the tonight show where he talks about why Jordan peele titled the film “Nope”. He say’s that its the reaction that black people will have when they see the film. Like an inside joke for the black community lol. Personally when you say that Daniel didn’t act is just a flat out lie. When you are trying to portray someone who doesn’t talk like you or doesn’t have the same experiences as you, THAT IS ACTING. Being someone or something you’re not. I mean he has a British accent for crying out loud, give him some credit. And you saying modern day black women is a racist statement in itself. Already putting stereotypes on how a black women should acts. Keke palmer and her character Emerald has personality and spaz!! And that’s exactly what Peele wanted. And yes she was a little annoying but that was half of the point! She is a LITTLE SISTER LOL. Always getting in the way of things and not trying to help out with furthering their fathers legacy. And the filmmaker man is not random, he shows us how the white man did the Haywoods back in the old days. Filming O.J (black man) for the money shot and leaving them to get it for himself (white man). Plus he BROUGHT THE NON ELECTRICAL CAMERA…. C’MONNNNN. Plus the scene with the little kids is just an example on how people now in days are so ready to pull out a camera and get something on youtube/instagram viral….. like really O.J? Call for help!!! Then the monkey scene is really a lot to unpack. Monkey’s are not meant to be domestic animals, their home is in the wild. And it’s clear that the monkey is experiencing trauma due to him going “haywire” when he hears a loud sound(could be caused by hunters and their guns). Lastly Ricky the little boy who witnessed Gordy the monkey getting shot in front of him later turns that horrific moment into something he can profit off of. (He tells keke/Emerald that he usually charges people to see the hidden Gordy museum in his office) Which is what O.J and Emerald are doing. Mainly because no one will believe them if they say there is a alien flying in the sky eating up anyone in site but recording something so scary, pushing your trauma to the side to make money…… there are many connections to be made here!
Geez, I didn’t think it was bad! I don’t really see what y’all are saying. The only parts I wish weren’t in were all the references to the sister’s lesbianism.
Oh! How could I forget!
The CGI for the chimpanzee was really bad, imo. Surprisingly bad.
I enjoyed it I thought it was a fun movie, better than Us and as god as Get Out
This film is amazing as both the title and the recommendation use the same word, nope!
This could be used as a masterclass in how not to tell a story.
We can start with the two massively unlikable main characters. After the first few bits of his acting I asked the person with me if he was supposed to be mentally deficient. Unable to form a complete sentence, mumbling, unprepared for what he was doing, unable to explain anything, and he went downhill from there.
The sister is portrayed as the perennial 16 year old even though she is 30? There is a lot to do on the ranch but all she wants to do is listen to music excessively loudly, drink and otherwise act like an irresponsible kid.
I teach creative writing and one rule is “if it adds nothing to the story, don’t include it. If it does not have an impact then it is fluff, get rid of it.”
If you were to do that to this piece of drek, you would have about 8 minutes of movie left, and that wouldn’t be any good either.
The father, adds nothing to the film
The entire backstory of the adult child actor, adds nothing but you can imagine someone involved in this rubbish saying “Hey, hey, how about if we stick in…” and people just going “cool, yeah, and maybe this.”
The film is chopped into ‘acts’ just to ensure you are removed completely from the film, not that anyone with a double digit IQ could be into it. Screen goes black, word appears, film sadly continues.
I think Jordan Peele is very funny. I think he is very talented.
You will see a lot of reviews and commentaries “explaining” the film, or the subtle nuances you may have missed.
This is because no one wants to say “Holy crap was that awful”.
I could write pages on how bad this film is from the terrible casting
Brother and sister raised on a ranch, everyone else has a country accent, they however have an inner city one because, well, acting talent from a-b.
inconsistencies in plot, and oh god there are so many.
Horses flee at the first sign of the alien, except for the dramatic end scene for our hero to face off.
insane behaviour and unrealistic reactions
bit of a spoiler although i won’t give details. If you have suffered through this, it will make sense
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House covered in blood and guts etc, well, no reason to phone the police
60-100 people missing, news reporter, and cops reaction, oh well might have been a flood. WT actual F!!!!!! Ah yes, those rare hilltop floods that leave no water damage, the park trashed
ok
I have to stop, the best part of this movie was leaving at the end
Well put, the suspension of disbelief is completely broken by the end of the film causing it to be laughable
It was broken WAY before that
Love your review, former teacher, and you are spot on in everything you stated…unfortunately, most are not educated anymore in the writing process, the whole rising action, climax/resolution, falling action thing, you make a great comment.
I agree,I didn’t think this film was that great. Critics seem to love it for some reason though.
It’s 2 hours at averageness. Funny at times, racist in that it portrays all the white people in it as old and stupid – your name is OJ? Really? Pathetic. And a really shallow story. Banal.
CRAP should of been a more appropriate one word title,Nope should be the next word out of your mouth if someone asks you to see this giant turd of a film , a Papier-mâché / origami – balloon shaped octopus floating around the sky for the last 20 minutes is basically what resembles the god-awful idea for an alien creature/life form you will waste 20 minutes of your life watching float around the sky at the end of this . Whoever reviewed and watched the completed version of this after post production and thought that this would be a good quality final product to watch should be beaten in public like a pinata, If misery enjoys company then watch this, Myself however, Nope. J.P you lost your mind
It really was the worst movie of the year (and I loved Get Out). All the hype makes it worse. Don’t waste your money. It was so bad and even painful to watch. The monkey scene is the only good part and that is short.
I laughed at the monkey scene, even though it had nothing really to do with the movie, the movie itself is terrible, I could have watched the monkey stomping people for two hours and it would of been more entertaining. I would of really like to see the sister get eaten , she was awful, annoying, and the first few minutes you could tell her brother was fed up with her constant bs
The title that scene was needlessly egregious and pointless
I picked “Nope” for group movie night and now I am banned from picking movies.
Lol
It’s obvious that, as a whole, society is just ignorant. People watch garbage “reality” tv shows and spend hours watching and making pointless videos. There is less intellectual conversation, self growth and reading! It shows when a movie is not “dumbed down” and people consider it bad. At least be cognizant of Jordan’s type of art and story telling and just stick to your reality tv shows!
Sorry Roxie, there is some truth to that, and some that is bs. Not everyone, like the majority of this country, wants a self-destructive, whoa’s-me movie, every-time they go to the cinema. Yes, there is definitely some dumbing down in media, however, don’t grandstand oneself by thinking you are better than everyone because you are above the class system, and don’t have bias and you supremely understand Peele’s movies more than others, and appreciate them more, that says nothing about you, except you are arrogant, and self-serving. Newsflash, everyone has bias’s and there is a class-system unfortunately, but the movies are ‘designed’ for amusement for the masses and to take one away from what is going on in the real world, as the real world can be pretty sad. A real test of personhood, is to rise above, work harder, and brake barriers, not to put blame on others for one’s misfortunes. I hope this helps you and start to appreciate what movies are for, to entertain, and amuse, not to further drown oneself in loathing or self-pitty.
STORY telling???? What STORY!???!?!!!! The entire movie is a series of “oh its about to get interesting!” followed by dissapointing. The plot was utter horses***.
It’s obvious that, White women believe that marginalised people should be celebrated and supported regardless of the actual substance of their work. The only ignorant members of society are those like yourself, Roxie. It’s also quite obvious that you have a pair of fangirl shades on.
For me it’s the totally irrelevant flashbacks and pointless unexplained scenes. Can you honestly say that you don’t feel cheated out of 2 hours? REALLY? Blinded by your pursuit of progressivity. Which is just completely transparent idiocy, sorry.
I had to leave a comment because I will not stand by and let you or anyone besmirch 1941. That movie is an underrated comedy with a fantastically underrated John Williams score.
Thank Hollywood in Toto for once again saving my movie dollars and my time. I was skeptical about the good over the top reviews of “Get Out”, begrudgingly saw it and was blown away by how good it was. Then I saw “Us” and again was pleasantly shocked by the very quality of the scares and the overall quality of the film. To this day I consider all of Peele’s films to be Science Fiction/Horror combinations. I passed on “Antebellumm” because of movie reviews and was pleased when I saw that audiences agreed and even avoided it on premium cable. Now the review of “Nope” which, from the trailers, I surmised was a UFO movie. Occasionally all directors get a dud. I like your reference to Spielberg’s “1941” with supporting actor John Belushi. I would say however that 2 duds in a row in a young director’s life could spell disaster for their future projects. Perhaps in the future he should use more than one word in his titles and focus on film quality and near artistic perfection. We get it. He wants to carve out a career of doing one (or two) word titles. Ooh! How edgy! That doesn’t make for a serious filmmaker, but for a flash in the wanna-be pan.
Peele didn’t direct or produce Antebellum
BOTH THEM MOVIES WACK ESPECIALLY US YOU MUST BE YOUNG
so, maybe not drive 45 minutes Thursday night for IMAX. Ok. Plan B is dock sitting and sipping.
I got more enjoyment sitting in a bathroom stall at truck stop next to a Mexican restaurant for 5 minutes than the 2 hours I’ll never get back, if you haven’t seen it yet, just say Nope
The budget for this thing was 68 million.
Let that sink in everyone.
There are B movies from the 80s and 90s that this crap can’t compete with.
I’m confused by this review … so because Peele doesn’t force-feed an un-needed social commentary (sometimes based on false narrative(s), the movie is bad??? “Woke-free” ya say? Hell … sign me up! Here’s a little hint: The reason box office revenues are plummeting, people are jumping ship on many streaming platforms, etc., is because when we turn to Hollywood, we’d like to be entertained, not lectured to. Especially by some of the most privileged people on the planet. Top Gun is smashing records exactly because it *didn’t* produce an anti-America, ‘everything is racist and horrible’-type story line. And don’t get me wrong … powerful social commentary is absolutely needed in film. The problem is, the last few years have been nothing but forced ideological lectures by an elite class of snobs who wouldn’t understand true oppression if it smacked them in the face with a sledgehammer. People are tired of it, and rightly so.
Yes, but you still have to make a movie that people want to see.
I second that. Not a good movie; I got bored with sister, (Keke
Palmer,) annoying to hear. I paused it after 45 minutes, and moved on to another movie.
I detest woke movies and am a strong conservative. This movie is stupid. Its well made, but I don’t know who made the decision SPOILER that a territorial sky amoeba was a better horror creature than aliens, but they need to be fired. This movie isn’t good and just because it isn’t woke doesn’t mean it’s good.
Exactly!!!!
Wait, wasn’t that a plot from Star Trek TOS?
I would say that this film is in fact, extremely woke and also, pretty darn shite too
If you don’t understand the title’s context then say that. His choice to use a simplified title for his work is his choice. I found it appropriate.
2 hours of my life I will never get back. My boyfriend even gave me my last warning about choosing bad movies. I convinced him it was going to be amazing. Now I’m at home and he’s not even talking to me. Thanks Jordan Peele
Gave my girl the same ultimatum….our house…..crickets!!!!
Worst movie I’ve seen for decades
THIS.
Your a tool and fake as the cnn media
You are is you’re, genius.
*You’re
This movie is clearly beyond the patience and understanding of this reviewer and many of the commenters. Your loss.
If you want a legitimate review, read Anthony Lane’s piece in the New Yorker.
The film is full of comments and shout outs to film history. The Easter eggs abound.
The chimp is plainly a look back at the career of J. Fred Muggs (with a somewhat violent twist).
Mr. Peele tried for a lot in making this film. It’s not his fault if some of the audience don’t get it. Those folks should go see the easily accessible Top Gun: Maverick.
It’s beyond me how you think a movie having hidden references or a deeper meaning equates to it being a good movie. This review doesn’t at all help the movie and just makes you look pretentious.
So an ad hominem argument? It’s not just some references or a deeper meaning that equates to being a good movie. It’s the way Peele puts it all together. But you can’t see it. Your loss.
I cannot think of a worse plotline in any movie marketed as serious that I have ever seen.
I really wanted to like this movie but it was terrible. And you’ve said twice now that people just don’t see it and it’s our loss but please explain what we dont see? What does Jordan put together with the references and deeper meaning that makes the movie so good? It was terrible. I love the idea because I love stuff like this BUT even me who is a B-horror movie fan thought this was a huge flop. So please explain what we are all missing instead of just saying we’re missing it and it’s our loss. Explain and maybe you’re comment will hold some weight but until then your previous comments mean absolutely nothing.
100% agree, I struggle to fathom the responses these viewers had. Even when you look at the perspective of trauma leading to exploitation. Steven Yuen’s character Ricky was a perfect example of this and ultimately didn’t escape the fate of his predecessors. This movie WAS full of social commentary and interestingly enough, it flew right over the heads of some people
There’s nothing to “get” and if you found this picture deep, meaningful or entertaining in even the slightest way then I simply have to apologise, I feel bad for you, This movie will certainly be a stain on his legacy. 2 hours of dull nonsense.
The “Chimp” is clear exploitation of a real life chimp attack. Disgusting to the maximum. Down to the attackee wearing a veil to cover their missing face. This film is exactly what it tries to criticize. It’s cheap exploitation. A waist of my time.
That looks pretty bad too tho
Your comment is incredibly pretentious & condescending. You’re trying so desperately to make sure everyone knows how smart you think you are. My god man, people have differing opinions & just because some people disagree with you doesn’t make them wrong.
The movie still sucked. I understand what your saying but the movie still has to be good and not just pertain to a black crowd.
Black crowd? I saw mostly white faces in the showing I attended. The cast itself is quite diverse.
lol I said black or white don’t matter here cause this isn’t about race. And generally it’s just a dumb boring movie Nino’ nobody wants to sit two hours to watch bs this is not a race thing cause us blacks don’t like this movie at all we we only gave it a chance cause keke Palmer was in it, well guess she needed some money cause baby you couldn’t pay me to be in this crap, this is just my opinion
speak for yourself….. please.
No bro there’s nothing you can say or do!!! Horrible movie!!! Completely, hands down!!!
The film was s*** though.
And this has to do with an entertaining film how?
IM BLACK AND THIS MOVIE is and always will be trash. BLACK WOMAN LEADING A NOVIE OVER A MAN IS APPALLING. 2 KE=KE PALMER SOLD OUT. SHE DONT EVEN CARRY HERSELF AS A WOMAN, BUT TRASHY WITH A SLANG, AND CURSING. SHE SUCKED THE WORST PORTRAYING BLACK WOMAN AS THUGGISH. LOOKING LIKE A FREAKING MAN WITH HER HAIR IN AN AFRO
Boring movie. Period. Lackluster