Nope

 

Nope

Not sure if Nope is a yup. Flying saucer (UFOs) movies have been around for decades from War of the Worlds (the original) to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Nope is more like the former, sinister. After an intriguing start the middle of the film loses steam and in later scenes the main action unfolds. The film is partitioned in different scenes. I though one scene involving a chimp was in left field and I didn’t get it. As opposed to Peele’s film, Get Out, Nope does not have brooding tension. The big reveal of seeing the flying saucer comes towards the end but getting there is a slow walk. Parts of the movie have to be inferred and their purpose is opaque. For example when the horses get spooked and run away what happens to them? The most original part of the movie is the flying saucer itself. It is like nothing before.

Danial Kaluuya gives a subdued performance as OJ a wrangler who provides horses for film and TV commercials. His hyperactive sister played by Keke Palmer is loud and funny. Angel ,played by Brandon Perea, is the electronic sales rep who is a UFO believer and sets up camera’s at OJ’s ranch. Steven Yuen is an entrepreneur who runs a side show. Yuen has an unfortunate close encounter.

UFO movies are either benevolent or malevolent; the either or takes away from the tension. The eventual encounter is the driving force. A clearer purpose of why a UFO would fly  billions of light years to earth would have sharpened the focus. Rotten Tomato gave the film an 82%. I am sure a bunch of you are younger than 70 so I encourage you to see the film and draw your own conclusion.