Partly cloudy. Low 74F. Winds light and variable..
Partly cloudy. Low 74F. Winds light and variable.
David Kaluuga, KeKe Palmer and Brandon Perea star in Jordan Peale’s “Nope.’’ Peele ’s UFO thriller topped the North American charts in its first weekend in theaters with an estimated $44 million in ticket sales. It was the No. 1 box office film in the U.S.
David Kaluuga, KeKe Palmer and Brandon Perea star in Jordan Peale’s “Nope.’’ Peele ’s UFO thriller topped the North American charts in its first weekend in theaters with an estimated $44 million in ticket sales. It was the No. 1 box office film in the U.S.
It came from outer space. Or somewhere.
Something’s hovering over Otis Haywood’s (Keith David, “Barbershop”) ranch in SoCal’s parched Santa Clarita Valley. Otis comes from a long line of horsemen and is a noted animal wrangler for TV and film. His son OJ (David Kaluuya, “Get Out”) works beside him and his stallions. That thing in the sky looks like it’s swooping things up and propelling things down. They better be careful.
Jordan Peele has twisted the horror genre in several directions. In this instance, he veers off the path a bit, spending an inordinate amount of time setting up moments of dread. Yes, there is some gore. Yes, bodies fly up and things are hurled down. Yes, some people are maimed or sucked away. But not in a well-measured out way.
Clocking in at 2 hours, 10 minutes, some may wish that Peele’s script was more taut and the footage a bit tighter. That each moment was connected to something vital. Instead, there is lot of space in between the beats. You spend more time waiting to be scared and shocked than being scared and shocked. And those shocks are accentuated by noises that sometimes overshadow the visual effects.
And who is causing all the terror is never that clear, though their intentions are. OJ: “Ghosts out there acting all territorial.” The unidentified flying object that causes all the fright looks like a prop from a 1960s “Twilight Zone” episode—or a round casserole dish with a lid. In ways that’s campy and old school. In ways it doesn’t hold a candle to other space oddities that have hovered over earth in movies like “Arrival.”
OJ and his overly rambunctious and slightly annoying younger sister Emerald (Keke Palmer, “Akeelah and the Bee”) hatch a scheme to try and document the UFO. A helpful and kinetic electronics store clerk (Brandon Perea, “American Insurrection”) and a nearly retired and very mystical cinematographer (Michael Wincott, “Westworld”) join their team.
Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun, “Minari”), a ringmaster, runs a nearby family-themed cowboy park named “Jupiter’s Claim.” There are clashes between the Haywoods and the park folks. Jupe’s beef with the UFO is murky. The Haywood’s prime impetus for charting the mysterious object is monetizing their 15 seconds of reality fame. That’s an error. Vengeance would have been a far more primal and compelling motive.
Debates will rage about the red herring storytelling, lapses and effects. But no one will argue about the spectacle. The Santa Clarita Valley setting is a gorgeous and biblical canvas. Taupe colored sands and hills. Sparse vegetation. An ever-present sun.
Kaluuya masterfully rides to the rescue on his steed like he’s a matinee idol. Laconic. Stoic. Steely. His facial expressions and eye rolls convey more thought and emotion than the script intended.
Palmer is suitably energetic, but her irritating role does her a disservice. However, Kaluuya and Palmer have chemistry and their sibling banter feels real.
Yeun is suitably tormented as a man suffering from boyhood trauma.
There’s a better film hiding in this extravagant cowboy hor/mys/sci-fi. Does “Nope” deserve the patience it requires? Viewers will decide.
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