Nope Review
By: Chance Meeting
In interviews for the film, Nope, Jordan Peele has been candid about what inspired him to create his most recent movie. He explained that during the pandemic, the fate of movie theaters was up in the air. People couldn’t go to the movies and some were closing, leaving an open debate on whether seeing a film in theaters was starting to become a thing of the past. For any film lover, this is a nightmare scenario, since nothing compares to seeing something on the big screen, especially if that something is a singular experience unlike any other. Jordan Peele sought to create a spectacle worthy of that experience that would bring people into theaters eager to witness it. I’m happy to say that in every area he succeeded.
What we have with his latest film Nope is plainly the movie of the summer. In the same vein as the original Jurassic Park and the original Jaws, this film is a tentpole blockbuster that people will be talking about for years to come. It’s equal parts terrifying, hilarious, action-packed, thought-provoking and awe-inspiring.
Daniel Kaluuya’s performance as the reserved OJ is probably the most intelligent horror movie character ever. As you watch him on the screen you nod alongside him because he makes the necessary decisions that you would be screaming at the screen if it were a lesser film. Keke Palmer provides comedic relief alongside the emotion between the two siblings as his sister Emerald. Both give Oscar-worthy performances (if the Academy had the cojones to finally show movies like this the respect they deserve.)
The first horror film ever to be filmed on 65mm IMAX by legendary cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, Nope talks about the idea of spectacle and how it often becomes corrupted through our society’s hunger for power.
Our world is seemingly built on the success of people who monetize tragedy in the hopes to gain money and fame. Just look at the media in both the major and social platforms. They are both driven with one goal in mind: to present to you the most awesome things in hopes that you’ll give them your full attention, regardless of the deeper ramifications those things can have.
But Spectacle can be a good thing, this very movie being one of them. Nope entices you to never look away. Like the very spectacle the film itself is about, the lesson here is that we must respect the nature and gravity of whatever it is that has our attention or it will consume us.
That’s about all I can say without giving too much away. I had the privilege of seeing this movie in IMAX, and I believe that’s how it was meant to be seen. If you can, see this on the biggest screen possible because it’s the best time I’ve had at the movies all year. Maybe in the last five years.
