4* out of 10*
This film is per se well-directed, has mostly good cinematography, suspense and tension and some intense scenes. It offers some great visuals and images that linger with you. I truly respect Peele for his original film-making, weirdness and ambition. Even though, this film did not convince me, it had me thinking about it a lot. Unfortunately, Peele's ambition ultimately leads to the film's downfall: it is convoluted, unfocused and can't seem to make up its mind about what it ultimately wants to convey. There are too many storylines, subplots and hinted-at events that do not really come together.
I do get (most of) the messages: The UFO and the reactions towards it are a symbol for people's desire to become famous and monetize everything and anything without considering the risks. It is somehow about people's obsession with art, fame, celebrities, technology, social media and the like. Also about Hollywood's and the entertainment industry's exploitation and lack of respect for animals and minorities. Most of the symbolism is done rather heavy-handed, see e.g. The TMZ guy on the motorcycle. Yeah, he is also a reference to Akira.... - so what?
However, none of these ideas are particularly new or innovative. And: where does it all go? It never ties together and fails to produce a compelling personal story. No real arc for the characters. In the end, they are no better than the TMZ guy because they chase the same goal: to get footage of the Alien and turn it into cash. That's the main story on the surface. How are we supposed to root for them if they never evolve into better persons? Overall, the movie concerns itself too much with cramming as many symbols and references into itself as possible. When what Peele should have been doing, is focussing on a consistent narrative, fleshed-out characters and a clear message. The film is so full of pop-cultural references, clever winks, easter eggs and symbolism and therefore full of itself that instead of elevating the story, it rather becomes distracting and annoying.
References to greater things (Jaws, Close Encounters, Signs, Kubrick, Westerns, Hitchcock and too many more to list) and underlying symbolism plus some suspense alone unfortunately don't make for a good film. These should not become an end in themselves but should serve a higher purpose: telling a good story. What good are all these hints and symbols if they don't tie together in an overarching narrative. Signs e.g. Also had all of these things. What makes SIGNS SO MUCH OF A BETTER FILM THAN NOPE is that it also has a clear idea about its characters, it had a cohesive narrative and the messages it wanted to bring across. As a bonus it had clever writing and a heart. And most importantly Shyamalan knew that less is more. Peele seems to follow the opposite approach: There is always room for MORE even though it has not much to do with my story or my characters.
Sadly, there is a really interesting story and probably an enticing movie inside of it all. Only, it is not the main "story" but rather the side plot about Park (Steven Yeun), the amusement park guy, and his tragic background story. Imo, the most thrilling scenes were the flashbacks to the absolutely menacing chimpanzee amok, the scene in Park's office and then his lasso-show. These were all intense and well-directed and had me on the edge of my seat. Even with the little screen time he has, Park's character is way more interested and better developed than our main protagonists. Even though I see how these events are supposed to tie into the overarching message, Peele failed to successfully wave them into the main plot. Hence there was no pay-off on this plot. Funnily, this had the effect that although I wanted to see more of this character and the ape story, whenever they came up I had the feeling that they led nowhere and only further prolonged a film that was already completely overloaded. Maybe, this is the film Peele should have actually made.
While the actors are doing a good job for the most part, the characters are all over the place. Kaluuya's OJ is fine, I guess, but he is so laconic and bare of emotions, it is hard to care for him. The sister Em is just nervewreckingly obnoxious. What's more, is that I felt zero chemistry between the siblings. There was no reason to care about the tech savvy Fry employee either. And the film dude with the painfully artificial deepthroat-voice was plain annoying (Is this the sheriff of Nottingham from Robin Hood??).
While the first 30-45 minutes do a great job of building a world, creating tension, the film suffocates on its overload in the latter two thirds. During the introduction, a lot is left in the dark - or behind the clouds - and therefore up to our imagination. I think it was after we fully see the UFO/Alien (which happens way too early and for my taste shouldn't have happened at all) that the film takes a turn for the worse. The final act is way too long and should have been cut for at least 20 minutes. Plus, it is super repetitive and uses the same scenes and set pieces over and over. When the UFO turns into a giant bed-sheet-squid I ultimately stopped caring. The film turns into a meandering cat-and-mouse-sequence that's rather underwhelming. By focussing so much on the SPECTACLE and showing us everything of it and then some, Peele makes it less effective.
The final fight is rather ant-climatic. After it's all said and done, OJ is - of course - still alive. Even though, after all we saw during the film, there would have been no chance for him to survive. Killing him off might have brought some impact to his actions and his arc - but nope.
No consistent logic or rules and many plotholes within the film. It is established that you can avoid being eaten if you don't look into the UFO's eyes (where are these eyes, btw?). Still, some who adhere to this do get eaten, others don't. If Steven Yeun had been incorporating this thing into his shows: Why weren't he and his visitors eaten in previous shows? Why would he spend 11.500 bucks for the horses instead of just feeding cows to the thing? How had word about a giant alien spacecraft not spread out after previous shows?
This film is per se well-directed, has mostly good cinematography, suspense and tension and some intense scenes. It offers some great visuals and images that linger with you. I truly respect Peele for his original film-making, weirdness and ambition. Even though, this film did not convince me, it had me thinking about it a lot. Unfortunately, Peele's ambition ultimately leads to the film's downfall: it is convoluted, unfocused and can't seem to make up its mind about what it ultimately wants to convey. There are too many storylines, subplots and hinted-at events that do not really come together.
I do get (most of) the messages: The UFO and the reactions towards it are a symbol for people's desire to become famous and monetize everything and anything without considering the risks. It is somehow about people's obsession with art, fame, celebrities, technology, social media and the like. Also about Hollywood's and the entertainment industry's exploitation and lack of respect for animals and minorities. Most of the symbolism is done rather heavy-handed, see e.g. The TMZ guy on the motorcycle. Yeah, he is also a reference to Akira.... - so what?
However, none of these ideas are particularly new or innovative. And: where does it all go? It never ties together and fails to produce a compelling personal story. No real arc for the characters. In the end, they are no better than the TMZ guy because they chase the same goal: to get footage of the Alien and turn it into cash. That's the main story on the surface. How are we supposed to root for them if they never evolve into better persons? Overall, the movie concerns itself too much with cramming as many symbols and references into itself as possible. When what Peele should have been doing, is focussing on a consistent narrative, fleshed-out characters and a clear message. The film is so full of pop-cultural references, clever winks, easter eggs and symbolism and therefore full of itself that instead of elevating the story, it rather becomes distracting and annoying.
References to greater things (Jaws, Close Encounters, Signs, Kubrick, Westerns, Hitchcock and too many more to list) and underlying symbolism plus some suspense alone unfortunately don't make for a good film. These should not become an end in themselves but should serve a higher purpose: telling a good story. What good are all these hints and symbols if they don't tie together in an overarching narrative. Signs e.g. Also had all of these things. What makes SIGNS SO MUCH OF A BETTER FILM THAN NOPE is that it also has a clear idea about its characters, it had a cohesive narrative and the messages it wanted to bring across. As a bonus it had clever writing and a heart. And most importantly Shyamalan knew that less is more. Peele seems to follow the opposite approach: There is always room for MORE even though it has not much to do with my story or my characters.
Sadly, there is a really interesting story and probably an enticing movie inside of it all. Only, it is not the main "story" but rather the side plot about Park (Steven Yeun), the amusement park guy, and his tragic background story. Imo, the most thrilling scenes were the flashbacks to the absolutely menacing chimpanzee amok, the scene in Park's office and then his lasso-show. These were all intense and well-directed and had me on the edge of my seat. Even with the little screen time he has, Park's character is way more interested and better developed than our main protagonists. Even though I see how these events are supposed to tie into the overarching message, Peele failed to successfully wave them into the main plot. Hence there was no pay-off on this plot. Funnily, this had the effect that although I wanted to see more of this character and the ape story, whenever they came up I had the feeling that they led nowhere and only further prolonged a film that was already completely overloaded. Maybe, this is the film Peele should have actually made.
While the actors are doing a good job for the most part, the characters are all over the place. Kaluuya's OJ is fine, I guess, but he is so laconic and bare of emotions, it is hard to care for him. The sister Em is just nervewreckingly obnoxious. What's more, is that I felt zero chemistry between the siblings. There was no reason to care about the tech savvy Fry employee either. And the film dude with the painfully artificial deepthroat-voice was plain annoying (Is this the sheriff of Nottingham from Robin Hood??).
While the first 30-45 minutes do a great job of building a world, creating tension, the film suffocates on its overload in the latter two thirds. During the introduction, a lot is left in the dark - or behind the clouds - and therefore up to our imagination. I think it was after we fully see the UFO/Alien (which happens way too early and for my taste shouldn't have happened at all) that the film takes a turn for the worse. The final act is way too long and should have been cut for at least 20 minutes. Plus, it is super repetitive and uses the same scenes and set pieces over and over. When the UFO turns into a giant bed-sheet-squid I ultimately stopped caring. The film turns into a meandering cat-and-mouse-sequence that's rather underwhelming. By focussing so much on the SPECTACLE and showing us everything of it and then some, Peele makes it less effective.
The final fight is rather ant-climatic. After it's all said and done, OJ is - of course - still alive. Even though, after all we saw during the film, there would have been no chance for him to survive. Killing him off might have brought some impact to his actions and his arc - but nope.
No consistent logic or rules and many plotholes within the film. It is established that you can avoid being eaten if you don't look into the UFO's eyes (where are these eyes, btw?). Still, some who adhere to this do get eaten, others don't. If Steven Yeun had been incorporating this thing into his shows: Why weren't he and his visitors eaten in previous shows? Why would he spend 11.500 bucks for the horses instead of just feeding cows to the thing? How had word about a giant alien spacecraft not spread out after previous shows?