So my full thoughts on Nope. Will be entirely honest, but I really liked the film, more so than Us namely because it doesn't suffer the issue of an exposition dump like the previous film did. I completely understand why some dislike the film or view Peele as overrated because, in some way, he is because some movie critics put him on that high a pedestal even when he refuses to identify himself as being close to the likes of John Carpenter. But I do enjoy his films for the most part because I can tell he is passionate about what he is doing.
In terms of the narrative, Nope is a simple story about two siblings trying to keep their ranch afloat by taking authentic pictures of a UFO but they are way out of their league when it comes to what the UFO truly is.
If anything, the story feels by the book and safe. But I don't see how anyone could come out of the film thinking it was boring. The first two acts of the film I felt were great but the third act is the one that is easily hit or miss. I loved the climax of the film, but I won't lie when saying the film felt incomplete/half-baked with the ending being abrupt. But that is more because I was truly invested with the film up to that point and I wanted there to be more to it.
If anything, the film is more a character study than a horror film despite having scary moments. Daniel's character OJ is vanilla at best. I disagree with the idea he is boring or uninteresting because he is monotonous, but I would argue that the film isn't entirely about him, but more that he serves as an outlet for more eccentric characters like Emerald, Angel, and Jupe. Even then, his stoic nature proves to be crucial when it comes to understanding the beast.
Emerald carries the movie with how she is more energetic than her brother and does have a semblance of a character arc where she tries to help snap a picture of the UFO not just because she wants to save the ranch, but also because she wanted to make it big herself. She also has some slight resentment toward her late father as well. In addition, she is funny.
Angel is an okay addition. He also has his humorous moments such as his musing of Ancient Aliens and he is by no means stupid.
Jupe I admit I was somewhat disappointed that he wasn't in the film for about 2/3 of it despite us spending time developing his character and childhood trauma. At first, I did dislike that, but I did feel like it was enough.
It all goes back to the underlying message of how people are willing to do anything to get that perfect spectacle even and how Hollywood treats its performing animals like living props that they chew up and discard. With that kind of disrespect, it leads to bad consequences for the people much like what happened with Gordy the Chimp which is definitely the scariest part of the film.
After surviving his encounter with the crazed chimp, Ricky believed that he was able to have some control over wild animals which I feel comes from the fact he was not looking directly at Gordy but instead looking at a shoe bizarrely standing on its heel. In my interpretation, the shoe is one of the "bad miracles" OJ was talking about. It saves Ricky at that moment but he did not take that as a cautionary tale instead doubling down on that due to his obsession with reclaiming his lost fame.
As for everything else, the soundtrack is excellent, and I did not think the acting was bad as there were several good performances to list. The cinematography is especially fantastic befitting the spectacle notion Peele was wanting.
So...I was satisfied for the most part with the film. Sure, I did want more in the film to make it feel more tightly wound, but I nevertheless did enjoy it.
In terms of the narrative, Nope is a simple story about two siblings trying to keep their ranch afloat by taking authentic pictures of a UFO but they are way out of their league when it comes to what the UFO truly is.
If anything, the story feels by the book and safe. But I don't see how anyone could come out of the film thinking it was boring. The first two acts of the film I felt were great but the third act is the one that is easily hit or miss. I loved the climax of the film, but I won't lie when saying the film felt incomplete/half-baked with the ending being abrupt. But that is more because I was truly invested with the film up to that point and I wanted there to be more to it.
If anything, the film is more a character study than a horror film despite having scary moments. Daniel's character OJ is vanilla at best. I disagree with the idea he is boring or uninteresting because he is monotonous, but I would argue that the film isn't entirely about him, but more that he serves as an outlet for more eccentric characters like Emerald, Angel, and Jupe. Even then, his stoic nature proves to be crucial when it comes to understanding the beast.
Emerald carries the movie with how she is more energetic than her brother and does have a semblance of a character arc where she tries to help snap a picture of the UFO not just because she wants to save the ranch, but also because she wanted to make it big herself. She also has some slight resentment toward her late father as well. In addition, she is funny.
Angel is an okay addition. He also has his humorous moments such as his musing of Ancient Aliens and he is by no means stupid.
Jupe I admit I was somewhat disappointed that he wasn't in the film for about 2/3 of it despite us spending time developing his character and childhood trauma. At first, I did dislike that, but I did feel like it was enough.
It all goes back to the underlying message of how people are willing to do anything to get that perfect spectacle even and how Hollywood treats its performing animals like living props that they chew up and discard. With that kind of disrespect, it leads to bad consequences for the people much like what happened with Gordy the Chimp which is definitely the scariest part of the film.
After surviving his encounter with the crazed chimp, Ricky believed that he was able to have some control over wild animals which I feel comes from the fact he was not looking directly at Gordy but instead looking at a shoe bizarrely standing on its heel. In my interpretation, the shoe is one of the "bad miracles" OJ was talking about. It saves Ricky at that moment but he did not take that as a cautionary tale instead doubling down on that due to his obsession with reclaiming his lost fame.
As for everything else, the soundtrack is excellent, and I did not think the acting was bad as there were several good performances to list. The cinematography is especially fantastic befitting the spectacle notion Peele was wanting.
So...I was satisfied for the most part with the film. Sure, I did want more in the film to make it feel more tightly wound, but I nevertheless did enjoy it.
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