Review

Jordan Peele’s list of films as a director is small, which is a surprise given the box-office success and critical approval he got for his fist two films, Get Out in 2017 and Us in 2019. His third, Nope, with its numerous trailers over the past year which have slowly revealed more and more of the plot line, seems to have taken an eternity to hit cinema screens.

Very little knowledge of the plot is a good thing if you’re planning on seeing Nope as the story turns up more than a few surprises before the end. Without giving too many spoilers away, and it will come as no surprise if you have seen some of the trailers, Nope is a sci-fi thriller where a giant spacecraft appears above the ranch belonging to horse wrangler O.J Haywood (an excellent Daniel Kaluuya who appeared in both get Out and Up) and his more plucky sister Emerald (Keke Plamer).

The main thread of the story sees O.J and his sister with the help of a local tech guy (Brandon Perea) trying to catch the UFO on film so that they can sell the clip for vast sums of money. This part of the story is without doubt the most satisfying part of Nope and it leads to a conclusion that more than makes up for some of Peele’s story, especially in the first half, that serves no real purpose other than making the plot feel a bit meandering and confusing.

Nope, thanks to the stunning effects and cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema (Dunkirk, Interstellar), is a film that should be seen on the largest screen possible, ideally in IMAX as it was filmed using IMAX cameras.

Nope is without doubt Peele’s best film to date and comes highly recommended.

4/5


Nope

Director: Jordan Peele
Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun

UK Release: Cinemas 12th August 2022
US Release: Cinemas 22nd July 2022