"nope" spoiler free review
Get Out is a transcendent film and top 10 of the last decade in the horror/thriller genre. It might be a top 10 film in the last decade of any type. The film’s modern, searing and horrifying commentary on race, prejudice and the dangers of wackjob science places it in a venerable spot within the cultural zeitgeist. One does not simply forget Get Out. When a writer/director debuts with such a stunning splash (see Night, M and The Sixth Sense), the weight of expectations for subsequent offerings can be suffocating and relegate a perfectly fine follow-up to a cinematic afterthought. Jordan Peele and his world-class talent are not immune. Sadly, NOPE is the Lady in the Water of Peele’s filmography – 90% style, 10% substance and utterly forgettable. The film is beautifully, almost hypnotically, shot and boasts a handful of quirky characters defined somewhat annoyingly by one or two very specific traits (a classic M. Night conceit). Peele displays an admirable commitment to a tone that is simultaneously fun and foreboding. Unfortunately, his admittedly clever set-ups and concepts simmer below the surface and fail to bubble up to a film that meets the cinematic and storytelling standard we now expect from Peele. It’s disappointing as I went in wanting and expecting to love the film. NOPE, shot entirely in IMAX, looks great and the direction is spectacular but the film itself is mostly just boring, especially across the slow as mud first hour. The central plot revolves around a common sci-fi trope and just as with M. Night film The Village, the plot twist expected to carry the film is wholly underwhelming. The antagonist feels incomplete beyond visual spectacle. Peele’s talent is undeniable but the ideas within the screenplay are more interesting than the actual experience. Sound familiar? Nice to see Michael Wincott acting again, though.