Movie Thoughts: Nope (2022)

• Released: July 18th, 2022
  
• Directed by: Jordan Peele
  
• Running time: 2h 10min
• Rating 4/5

Synopsis

OJ and Emerald, a brother and sister horse-trainer duo, have to find a way to prove an UAP's existence when it starts attacking their stables.

My Thoughts

I only really watched this one because of the hype surrounding it a while ago. It has since died down, but when I noticed that Nope was on a streaming service I have, I rented it. And boy am I glad I did, because this is a fantastic movie.

One thing I really liked is the characters. This movie doesn't have a lot of them, but the main ones (OJ, Em, Angel and to a lesser extent Jupe) are all very distinct and likable. I was legit rooting for these guys to be able to capture some evidence of the flying saucer. 

The plot also kept me really engaged. I was worried for a while that this was really gonna turn into a full-blown sci-fi flick (which is a genre I'm simply not into), but thankfully that never really happened. There certainly is an UAP, but it's actually a creature rather than a flying saucer containing aliens who want to take over the world or some bullshit like that.

I also appreciate that the movie doesn't over-explain things. The creature (Jean Jacket) is never really explained, what exactly it is and where it comes from, and honestly I like that. It adds to the mystery and allows the audience to draw their own conclusions about the creature.

If I do have to have a criticism, I guess it'd be that the CGI on the chimpanzee just didn't look super convincing. It didn't look terrible or anything, but I just constantly knew looking at the ape that it wasn't really there and that it was a fake effect. It just looked a tad too unpolished for me. 

Overall a fantastic movie, though. Do recommend it!