“NOPE” Is A Thrilling Sci-Fi Flick Well Worth The Wait

The long-anticipated third feature from Jordan Peele is well and truly worth the wait. “Nope” is a thrilling sci-fi romp from the mastermind behind some of the best films of the last five years.

What radiates most from each frame, (captured beautifully by the skilful Hoyte Van Hoytema, responsible for modern beauties such as Spike Jonze’s Her and many a Nolan flick), is the palpable energy from collaborators savouring each second they get to play inside a Peele creation.

Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer play siblings, OJ and Emerald, who bear witness to strange happenings in the backyard of their childhood ranch.

Kaluuya and Palmer’s chemistry is fantastic and supporting cast members Brandon Perrera as Angel, Steven Yeun as Ricky and Michael Wincott as Antlers elevate this.

As is expected from a Peele picture, there’s some fantastic humour.

Brilliant quips pair beautifully with the excellent comedic timing of each player. Although there are moments where lines feel slightly misplaced, each character is having so much fun it’s hard to care. The ensemble is easy to root for and makes the 130-minute run time fly by.

“Nope” is a feast for the senses.

In a pre-film discussion, Peele says: “I like fucking people up”, and that he does with sound design that makes you want to curl inside yourself and visuals that have you hiding behind your hands, looking for refuge.

It’s not horror with a capital H in the way his previous films are, but it does have a lingering eeriness that is hard to shake.

Having been shot on the IMAX film camera, “Nope is aching to be experienced on the biggest cinema screen available to you. Keke Palmer prefaced the film by saying “Nope” feels like both Hitchcock and Spielberg. It is the perfect summer cinematic blockbuster while having something deeply enigmatic bubbling beneath the surface, and most of all, it’s a lot of fun.