Nope (2022) Review

On Monday I decided to go back to the cinema to watch the new Jordan Peele directed horror film Nope and now I have got around to reviewing it so here it is. The premise of the film sees a small community in California come across a crazy discovery. 

Main Character

Daniel Kaluuya is reunited with the director who really gave him his big break and I really enjoyed his performance here. OJ is a bit stoic but has that quite charisma towards him that made him a character that I cared about, his character goes through quite a bit of development and Kaluuya brings plenty to the performance. 

Supporting Characters

Keke Palmer plays his sister and I thought she was good, at first I thought she was just really annoying but as the film goes on I liked her more and thought the dynamic between her and Kaluuya was well realised by both of them. The rest of the cast does there job well such as Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott and Steven Yeun, the issue is that none of their characters have any depth or interest about them. Yeun in particular is really underutilised and it is a shame considering how great an actor he is. 

Story 

The story is interesting in terms of not revealing everything at first and making you really pay attention to every frame. The main two characters are well realised and their chemistry is undeniable and makes them film much more enjoyable to watch. But this film has too much in it that doesn't really matter, the 2nd act in particular really drags the film down and made me a bit bored, the last act brings it up a bit but not enough. 

Script 

The script has some decent drama in it and it builds the intrigue of the whole plot well. It has some humour but I think this is one of those films that thinks its funnier then it actually is and there was never that dialogue that made me truly care about what was going on which is a shame. 

Style 

The film is shot beautifully, there is no doubt that plenty of love and craft was put towards the making of Nope as it looks great throughout. The main issue is in its pacing, its that middle section for me, it just derails the film and had me yawning, I am all for character development but it just felt misplaced here. 

Overall

Overall, Nope is an above average film that makes its audience really think and care. It just misses the spot quite a few times so I can't fully recommend it. If you are interested then it may be for you, otherwise I would skip it. 

Rating - 6/10