“NOPE” | Spoiler Review
Jordan Peele’s latest film, “NOPE,” is out now, & you know we had to bring you a Quasar Qult review for our Quasonians. From start to finish, the film is an attention grabber without a doubt. This is definitely as Peele describes his film: a “spectacle.” As one of the masters of horror & discreet symbolism, Peele exceeds in bringing the right tension to every scene in his latest UFO thriller. Click now to read the full spoiler review 🛸
Written by Joey Rodriguez
Working with his “Get Out” lead Otis (Daniel Kaluuya) ,the film starts off rather grim. As a “bad miracle” happens, items such as coins & keychains fall from the sky killing our main characters father. It’s a shocking start. Left to keep his farm going, along with his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) more wild incidences involving the family horses occur leaving the brother & sister to come to the realization that something more mysterious might be going on. With the help of Alex, a fry electronics employee they meet while acquiring cameras to monitor the sky. Our team finds themselves on a mission to try to get the “Oprah Shot” of the ufo creature but must work together if they are ever going to survive this ordeal. As it hides in a cloud that doesn’t move at all, It makes you not want to stare at the sky for too long.
The story is told through a few flashbacks and flashforwards with our main characters, as well as for Ricky (Steven Yeun). We see, what’s is probably the most intense scene from the film, is Ricky surviving a horrific chimpanzee attack in which he costars in a family sitcom “Gordy’s Home.” This scene really set the tone for what this character has been through to get to his current state, using a dangerous creature in front of an audience for a profit. Later in the film, we find out that Ricky has known of the creature in the sky for quite some time & has been running an amusement park ‘Jupiter’s Claim’ showcasing it in a small show when your park is open. Maybe he felt some type of connection given that Gordy was truly not a animal meant to be tamed, which eventually lead to his epic death. This makes you wonder how long, or if he has contributed to feeding the ufo given that the film spans over the course of 6 month. With scenes where you can hear screams from a distance, there could’ve been countless times innocent lives were taken by this vacuum of a beast or even orchestrated by Ricky.
Watching the film, I enjoyed that this movie felt like Jordan’s version of “JAWS.” But instead of the ocean, the sky was this predators sea. Even the team up with the Antlers Holst, reminded me of when the characters from Jaws hired Fisherman Quint to catch the shark. Both characters die in horrible fashion getting their “Impossible” shot, leaving the mission for someone else to complete. Even the ending had a similar type of death with the tank being shot in Jaws mouth, the same way the ballon popped as Jean Jackets swallowed it whole. It’s quite the spectacle of an ending. As others arrive at the amusement park to witness, our hero Emerald gets the picture using the “photo well” at the park. Giving her that sweet conclusion she had been wanting.
A subtle nod that was my personal favorite was the execution of the iconic “Kaneda Slide” from the 1988 anime favorite “Akira,” we see Palmers character ‘Em perform. I also did my research & this is the first live action homage to the “Kaneda Slide.” So props to Peele for being the first to pull it off, successfully.
While Peele’s work has always been great at tension and suspenseful moments throughout his films, this one falls just a little bit short. The final form of the main antagonist was just a bit odd, looking like a huge bed sheet floating in the sky with a very weird fluttering mouth. After such a mysterious thrill of a film & also finding out that the UFO is actually alive. I was truly expecting a terrifying monster reveal. Maybe it’s my fault for my expectation but it felt a bit anticlimactic. But it definitely shows how outer worldly this creature is. I also feel like Otis dies trying to lure the monster in the final act. As he sits on his horse under the sign that says “Out Yonder,” it makes you wonder if we are looking at Otis thru Emerald’s eyes or if he’s actually there. I’m sure Peele left that up for interpretation so for the sake of my happiness, he survived lol.
Jordan Peele will always get my admiration for having original ideas & themes that are captivating & fresh but when comparing this film to his others, I don’t think I like this one more than “Get Out” or “Us.” This film is fun & because it has so many twists and turns that it keeps you guessing until the very end, it gets a solid 7.5/10. What did you think of the film ? Did you love it ? Did you hate it ? Do you agree with my review ? Make sure to check it out & let us know your thoughts. Thank you for reading our latest review of Jordan Peele’s “NOPE,” out now in theaters. Stay tuned for more reviews soon 💪
