Many cinematic comparisons to M. Night Shyamalan and Steven Spielberg weigh heavily in his latest movie. Nope also leans hard into an obvious dose of Paul Thomas Anderson as he starts to lose focus in his narrative take. However, he's able to pull off the nearly impossible by rekindling and adding luster to a sub-genre that has been needing a fresh kick in the pants for years. Peele said he wanted Nope to be a "spectacle". And it's obvious that he was able to do just that. He delivers on his promise ten fold.
Through some stellar casting choices and unique plot devices, he's able to bring something new to the table during the blockbuster season. This is unlike his other two major films, Get Out and US. It's bigger. It's scarier. And it highlights his comedic edge all the while moving towards the realization that Peele will go down as a cinematic master in due time.
At all times, NOPE is amazing to look at. Steadied by damn fine cinematography, perfected visual effects, thunderous audio, and a wondrous score, Nope is anything but the expected. Peele and his crew find new ways to spin a story that would have been a daunting task in less capable hands. With Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer taking center stage and a support cast that features Steven Yeun, Brandon Perea, and Michael Wincott, Peele makes positive momentum towards revitalizing his chosen format.
Steering clear of the racial tones or political themes of his Get Out and Us, Peele heads back in to pure Twilight Zone territory with a movie that carries a hard thriller edge that's served up perfectly by a unique cast of actors that assist in bearing the weight of a story that's not your typical plot about otherworldly invaders. With Peele nodding to Shyamalan's Signs and Spielberg's Close Encounters or Jaws, we're left with a movie that's going to shock some and possibly disappoint others. This is one that you have to go in to with preconceived notions left at the door. NOPE is messy and clunky at times, but it's also a welcome change that the summer box office needs.
NOPE takes us back to a time when shadows and movement captivated audiences and used darkness to help carry moments of terror. Even at its biggest, most spectacular moments, Peele has the right idea by making it about the characters and their connections to one another. At the core, NOPE is a horror study that just might end up becoming a classic in its own due time.
-CG
