Movie Review: 'NOPE' Deserves Its Credit As Summer Spectacle
Jordan Peele's Nope debuted in theatres last week, and I had to make my way to not only see it immediately, but I was sure to see it in AMC's Dolby Audio movie experience. My overall review is that, like Peele's earlier works, Get Out and Us, there's a particular commentary about the society we live in, and this one focuses specifically on Hollywood and society's use of cameras in the hunt for spectacle.
In short, Nope is about a horse-breeding family that has its own long history in Hollywood history, with the Haywood Family's ties going back to the black jockey that starred in the first ever motion picture. While that incredible clip is almost always credited to the man that shot it, Edward Muybridge, the star of that clip is always entirely left out. As Keke Palmer's Emerald Haywood mentions in the film, this gentleman is "the first movie star", and yet his contribution is completely erased. In turn, the Haywood's find them struggling to make ends meet raising horses used in Hollywood commercials and movie. With the death of their father, who is killed by a coin that suddenly falls from the sky, the hardships only intensify.
The commentary is actually very subtle, and I've seen a lot of responses to the movie mentioning the feel that there is a message, but that it feels like there may be so many that it's easy to miss them. That's Jordan Peele's superpower at this point. This third film in his catalog follows Us that had that same feel, and just like his sophomore movie, with and without the commentary, Nope is actually a damn good movie.
Black ranchers trying to tackle what they believe is a UFO is something that we have yet to visit in any movie, and the movie makes note of that by trying to highlight the extreme importance of the characters working to get the craft on footage. Daniel Kaluuya as a rancher - or, let's just call him a cowboy - is a huge contrast from a lot of his roles, while Keke Palmer steals the show as both the emotional and comedic contribution to the overall plot.
This is not a slow movie, and it's also not even a fast-paced one either. Instead, there are a few flashbacks and tense scenarios with enough suspense to keep you on edge about what the characters are willing to do to prove the existence of a UFO. And then for the audience, finally getting a glimpse of the alien becomes a scene that ultimately felt like the long-delayed reveal of the big shark in Jaws. When you finally see it, it's shocking, uneasy, and adds that climatic feel to the movie. The difference between Jaws and this movie, though, is literally the phrase: "Nope", which Peele cites as the phrase Black people would literally say in a UFO experience.
Equally suspenseful and entertaining, Nope delivers and then goes the fuck home. Unlike a lot of movies today (no diss to the Marvel Studios movies), the movie does not have a post-credit scene, doesn't carry odd plot twists (I'm thinking of Moon Fall, though I enjoyed that development), or anything that derailed the plot. While the movie ends with the general feel-good ending, it does share a commonality with Us and Get Out in that, there is a continuation to the story that we, the audience, have to only assume concludes in a way that is aligned with the society we live in today.
Nope honestly does very well without needing to be "Jordan Peele's most ambitious project" or anything of the sort. Instead, it's a fun movie that makes really good points, as well as giving you great action, tension, and invites characters that probably wouldn't see either a western movie or an alien movie.
Despite what Logan Paul says (but also who the fuck cares about Logan Paul's movie taste), Nope is dope as fuck, and an enjoyable film with really good pacing.
For that, I have to give it 5 STARS on a review.
AMC Stubs A-List Experience
So, I saw Nope on Friday, July 22nd and it's already the third movie I've watched since joining AMC's A-List Premiere subscription. Noticing how much time I spend on the couch scrolling through streaming services, I decided to join the subscription for just $23.00/month to see 3 movies per Week. Since it's Summer, there's no shortage of blockbuster smashes that are hitting the big screen for me to see.
Weighing the Option| Yes, sure. $23.00/month is more than Netflix, Amazon Prime, and nearly every subscription except for YoutubeTV, but in weighing the pros and cons, I saw a lot of good things to consider. One, going to the movies alone is something I've grown pretty used to. For one, it makes a bad date; I like horror movies, so finding even a friend to go see the latest scary movie is a lot of work sometimes; lastly, with my new schedule and habits, I like the opportunity to leave the house, catch a movie, and do my own thing while watching movies I enjoy.
The alternative is to sit and scroll until I fall asleep, or bundling so many streaming services and battling between who has what movie.
Pros:
- The savings are there. With one movie costing around $19.00, an extra couple bucks to see a good combination of movies feels very unlimited for $23.00. I might see something once alone, then again. All one cost.
- Points. In a world of racking up points and savings, racking up points at the movies sounds like a steal as well, and I'm in.
- FREE stuff! Popcorn, upgrades, online reservations, and priority lines? Yeah. I'm with that.
Cons:
- Buying multiple tickets means you're paying regular price for the add'l tickets. Is that even a con?
- There is Entourage, which allows you to add people to your account, but no referral program.
For more details, check out the official AMC website for details.
So, What's the Social Commentary?
Aight, so BOOM!
I'll get straight to the point. Because there's a deep point that I connect to. Just as We Missed A Meeting does, Nope has a plot that is almost completely devoid of white characters. There are a few, and they all happen to either be in established Hollywood roles or extremely nosey. Even the movie's promotional photo (seen above) has four different characters that have identities in LGBTQAI+ (Keke Palmer), Asian (Steven Yeun), Black (Daniel Kaluuya), and Latinx (Daniel Perrea). These are the four characters that drive the plot forward both in flashback and in the present.
These are the four groups that also represent the groups that Hollywood uses at any given time for popularity, wokeness, or monetary gains, but then immediately abandons at any given moment. Steven Yeun's character the former Hollywood fallen star that now lives in the middle of nowhere managing western-themed park aligns pretty well with a long list of Asian actors who made their debuts in the 1980s with catchy names, funny accents, and as comedic relief in actions movies - all who have since fallen on hard times finding follow-up roles in Hollywood.
Daniel Kaluuya's character's name is OJ, but it's short for Otis Jr. That does't stop characters from stopping for a second to consider Orenthal James Simpson, though - another Black man who had quite the spectacle with his 1995 murder trial.
Again, each of these characters, both in and out of Hollywood, are tools for spectacle that are used and disposed of when it comes to allowing for a building or establishing of a legacy.
This is most obvious with the uncomfortable story and portrayal of Gordy the Chimp. In a scene that is reminisce of the Travis the Chimp attack in 2009, Gordy the Chimp is on the set of a television show called "Gordy's Home", where the chimp attacks everyone on set except for the young boy. I saw this as two characters of the show most taken advantage of sharing in the gesture that they also share among each other. The scene is being called one of the most uncomfortable scenes of any Peele movie, with the POV being that of the boy as he watches the bloody chimp run around stage, biting, ripping, and brutalizing the bodies of the cast on stage.
Now, enter the alien.
The alien, in short, can be looked at as a camera itself. It hides in a cloud that never moves, much like a photograph. In its own way, UFO's are spectacle. They've made substantial appearances in history, including abductions, sightings, and even disarming military weapons, and yet the evidence of their appearances are almost always immediately shot down as fake, doctored, or something to be ignored and discredited.
What do you think? What is your general idea of Nope? Liked it? Loved it? Be sure to @ me on Twitter to keep the conversation going.