Hmmm... on first reaction I'm underwhelmed.

Thrillers like this should be an hour 45 minutes tops. It's very interesting and fresh, but the reveal at the end of the UFO being an animal is confusingly handled. And it's way too long, I checked my watch a few times

What's interesting is the original cut was over 3 hours long... makes me think how much was cut cause it did feel like the narrative was off. Idk i think I might give it another chance but I just feel like the narrative lacked cohesion.

The more I think about this the more I like it, it doesn't reach the glorious highs of Us or Get Out but is handsomely constructed with fantastic performances and some unforgettable imagery. The production and sound design and the cinematography should be locks for Oscar nominations, this movie is absolutely beautiful to look at. B+

God awful. Wife wanted to walk out halfway through but I convinced her to stay. Wish I didn't. Good thing I saw this in the afternoon or else it would have put me to sleep. The "scariest" part was the kids dressed up as aliens.

F

The sci-fi and horror aspects of Nope work really well as you'd expect from Mr. Jordan Peele. He also wanted to make this an epic western though, and that's the part that doesn't work. The movie is just way too slow.

I know he wanted this to be his Jaws, and that's an admirable ambition. The themes about respecting performance animals and their rules is much needed and well served. There are a ton of memorable scenes that tap into Spielbergian wonder. Yet they also expertly display just how horrible being eaten by this thing would be, as it slowly digests you over a thousand years (unless it gets sick and pukes your blood up on someone else's house.) And you have such an expert cinematographer in Hoyt capturing everything.

In my memory, all of this adds up to a picture that should have been an instant classic. But there's one more memory and that is of being bored for the majority of the runtime. The me sitting in the theater no-sold everything the same way that Kaluuya's character did. They try to set up these opposing characters dynamics between Kaluuya, who respects the animal and its rules, and Yeun who, due to intense childhood trauma, thinks that he has some sort of bond with dangerous animals and therefore does not need to respect their rules. Yet in the end, they both want the same thing - to profit off of this man-slaughter. Why should I root for characters who are risking not only their lives, but potentially hundreds/thousands of others just to get a photograph?


I dunno, I wanna like the movie more, and maybe I'll watch it again, but too much of it was off. C+

Brilliant. A

Maybe a TAD too long? But honestly once I started feeling the length, the kickass finale started. So that feeling went away.

I loved Get Out but wasn't a big fan of Us. I didn't know how I'd feel about this one but I thought it was really good. Wildly entertaining. Keke Palmer was great. She honestly kind of made the movie for me. I loved her character and her energy. Also really enjoyed Brandon Perea. I was less impressed with Daniel Kaluuya. It's not his fault. The character is very one-dimensional and just not that interesting. To be fair all of the characters are one-dimensional but it didn't really bother me. I still found myself rooting for them. The movie looks gorgeous. The night scenes especially. The sound design is very impressive.



I'm sure it helped going into it thinking I might not like it but it is a really well-made movie and I was invested in it the whole time.

B+

This was an incredible cinema experience. A real movie movie, with brains and style and humor. And some deeply unsettling and iconic imagery and set pieces. Thrilling, entertaining, unique. Loved it. A

This was all right (said in a positive tone), but unfortunately I saw it at home when I could tell quite early on that it needed to be seen on the big screen. Anyway, I'm not quite sure why Gordy was in the movie, but that segment was probably the best part along with the "aliens" in the stable. I didn't buy Kaluuya to begin with but warmed to his character very quickly. He did a good job. It is photographed well, the score is clean and emphatic, and the whole Hollywood horse ranch milieu was unusual but welcome (The Scorpion King crew hoodie is a neat touch). It's a decent film. But I couldn't care much for the UFO scenes, which puts me in a bit of a quandary because that's what the film is about, but they just weren't scary. They added spectacle, and the early scenes of it hiding and then being discovered in the clouds is very interesting, but the whole finale was drawn out and a bit bland. And no epilogue, which was disappointing.

So where does it rank in terms of Peele films? Well, I much preferred Us, but it's better than Get Out. However, it cannot hold a candle to Signs. That's how you do an aliens-in-the-countryside mystery epic.

The digestion scene where you can hear the screams of the children is the most disturbing and upsetting thing I've ever seen in a film, and I've watched some fucked up shit. But this was different for some reason. Maybe it taps into a primal, ancestral fear of being eaten by something that humans have. Just absolutely traumatizing. I actually regret watching it because it freaked me out so much I'm still thinking about it. Like, psychologically scarring. I can barely comment on the rest of the film, which was pretty flawed, because of that.

Cool film, like the buildup and there are some good moments throughout. Though its originality is welcomed, it's not wholesome enough to be totally captivated by it. The story and characters could've used some more work. I like Peele's style, he's a strong writer and filmmaker but I've also yet to see him make something really special.

B+