Writer-director Jordan Peele’s career-arc similarities to M. Night Shyamalan become more pronounced with “Nope.” But he’s declining faster. Shyamalan was still doing good work on his third major effort, “Signs.” Peele’s third film as a helmer is likewise about a brush with aliens. But it doesn’t refresh the genre the way “Signs” gives us a new spin on “Close Encounters,” it merely repeats it.
I get a sense that Peele – boasting cachet after the excellent “Get Out” and the messy but thematically rich “Us,” plus a solid screenplay for “Candyman 4” – had images and set pieces in mind for “Nope,” but lacked an original story or point. Least forgivable, there’s little horror or tension in this plodding effort.
(SPOILERS FOLLOW.)
Beam me up – or not
The title comes from the modern catchword that hip people deliver in the face of something bluntly dangerous – like an alien spacecraft that eats people. The most cinematically rich (although still too slow-paced) sequence finds patrons at Jupiter’s Claim – an attraction that borders the ranchland of siblings played by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer – getting sucked into the ship. Soon after, an impressive rain of blood spatters the siblings’ house at dusk.
“Nope” (2022)
Director: Jordan Peele
Writer: Jordan Peele
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea
Also cool in the abstract is the notion of an unmoving cloud amid Big Sky country. Mild foreboding comes from shots of the UFO zipping from behind that (apparently fake) cloud to dodge among the real ones.
Palmer gives not-quite-annoying quirkiness to Em Haywood, who wishes brother OJ would sell their late father’s ranch so they have money for fresh ventures. Em is not lazy – she has many side hustles – but she’s cinematically zany.
Kaluuya, whose “What the heck is going on” expression matches that of the viewers in “Get Out,” plays OJ as detached. Sure, OJ is numb from his father’s death in the cold open, but I think he’s always like this. He doesn’t have any issue with shortening Otis Jr. to OJ. He’s too cool for school, but Kaluuya takes it too far.
Committed supporting turns come from Brandon Perea (as a Geek Squad type who gets into the attempt to capture the saucer on video), gruff-voiced Michael Wincott (as a legendary cinematographer who craves the “impossible” shot) and “The Walking Dead’s” Steven Yeun (as a former child TV star who runs Jupiter’s Claim). But it’s not enough.
Confusing motivation
Peele’s writing of the final showdown is confusing. OJ has figured out that if you don’t look at the flying saucer – which looks like an eye itself – it won’t eat you. This is like Grant’s “Jurassic Park” assertion that if you freeze, a T-rex won’t attack. It’s sheer guesswork.
It’s mostly correct, except that on a couple occasions, the ship does eat people who aren’t looking at it – including a TMZ reporter, which must be a fun inside joke for Peele. Then OJ becomes suicidal for no apparent strategic reason. But he survives anyway – I think.
Slices of weirdness do not make a good movie, but Peele tries. In flashbacks, Jupe (the former child star) remembers the horrific last day on set. His chimpanzee co-star snapped during a rehearsal and killed or maimed everyone except him.
“Nope’s” message is that nature (Earthbound or otherwise) is unpredictable. But outside of Jupe’s bizarre side trip, “Nope” is predictable. It’s aliens. We know from “Signs” that “It’s aliens” can still be compelling with a deft touch.
I do appreciate that Peele isn’t content with “It’s what you don’t see that’s scary.” We do get a look at the extra-terrestrial’s innards and biological processes. But at the end of the day, “Nope” is still just aliens, without enough scares or surprises to hang a cowboy hat on.