Film Review: NOPE (2022): Keke Palmer Steals the Show in Jordan Peele’s Intense Science Fiction Thriller

Nope Review

Nope (2022) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Jordan Peele and starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott, Steven Yeun, Wrenn Schmidt, Keith David, Devon Graye, Terry Notary, Barbie Ferreira, Donna Mills, Oz Perkins, Eddie Jemison, Jacob Kim, Sophia Coto, Jennifer Lafleur, Andrew Patrick Ralston and Lincoln Lambert.

Jordan Peele has crafted a suspenseful, thought-provoking, action-packed science fiction thriller with his latest picture, Nope. This movie has scenes on the level of early Steven Spielberg pictures, but nothing can prepare audiences for the knockout lead performance by Keke Palmer. She shares the screen with Daniel Kaluuya, an Oscar winner, and it’s hard to believe that Palmer doesn’t have an Academy Award herself judging from the terrific energy and thoughtful emotion which she puts into every second of her performance in Nope. Set in California, this is a movie for the record books in terms of the way the movie is crafted from a cinematic standpoint. A lot of interesting choices were made in terms of camera angles and the uses of certain shots create nail-biting suspense throughout. It’s one of the most unique pictures that I’ve seen this year.

Daniel Kaluuya is OJ Haywood who is a horse provider for the entertainment industry with a sister named Emerald (Palmer). Since their dad Otis (Keith David) dies a premature death, the siblings are stuck with some financial troubles. Early on, Emerald comes to a set and once she starts talking, Palmer’s obvious passion for acting is on full display. She’s one of the best actresses in the movies of 2022 thus far. Palmer steals every scene she’s in. When Emerald enters the movie, it’s like a force of nature has come on screen and through the picture, Palmer is always the most competent performer stealing the rug right out from heavy hitters like Kaluuya and Steven Yuen who has a central role in the picture as well.

There is a scenario in the film that is interwoven throughout the picture’s complex plot. An ape named Gordy (Terry Notary) went on a rampage during the shoot of a television show. This is where Yuen’s character comes into the movie. Yuen plays Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park, and as a child (Jacob Kim), Ricky was traumatized by an event in which Gordy went wild and harmed some fellow people from the show. Peele’s presentation of these scenes is amazing. He shows a shoe standing upright in the background which came off a victim’s foot and builds the circumstances behind this event to perfection. When we get the flashback sequence of the young Ricky almost being attacked by Gordy, there is genuine suspense and Kim expertly portrays the younger Ricky. In fact, Kim defines the character that Yuen presents on screen. If Kim wasn’t as good as he was, Yuen’s performance would fall flat. It doesn’t thanks to the talent of Kim.

Michael Wincott is also amazing as the cinematographer, Antlers Holst, who is, for a lot of his screen time, shooting footage of the events portrayed in the picture. Anyone who doesn’t know that Nope is about an unfriendly UFO has probably been hiding underneath a rock for a couple of months. Wincott’s Holst is one of several characters looking to make a major score by obtaining shots of the UFO which sucks up its unfortunate victims. Wincott has always been an intriguing character actor and is one of the standouts in the supporting cast as he fully fleshes out the motivations of Holst and makes the character an intriguing one.

Many of the scenes towards the end of the picture are staged with incredible precision. The single most effective scene in the entire movie revolves around Palmer’s Emerald putting change into a “Wishing Well” machine at a carnival in order to get the pictures of the UFO she so desperately seeks. Palmer keeps herself immersed in her character and also excels when riding a motorcycle as she tries to outrun the UFO in order to save civilization as we know it. Or something like that.

Nope makes the best use of blown-up characters since Airplane! Remember the artificial pilot from that movie which looked like a balloon? Well, Nope effectively portrays its setting by placing some colorful, blown-up “characters” which move around in the wind and serve a very important purpose to the movie’s plot. Also, extremely noteworthy is the film’s action regarding the final attempt to stop the UFO by Emerald as she uses an oversized, blown-up, balloon-like character to try to defeat the UFO. I shall say no more.

Kaluuya has plenty of moments as OJ–most of them comes from him riding on a selected horse at given intervals throughout the movie. Brandon Perea as Angel, the tech guy from a Best Buy-type electronics store is also very good here and adds some much-needed relatability to the premise of the movie. Who can you relate to most in a movie like this? The electronics guy at the counter who knows everything there is to know about the business he works in.

Palmer is the movie’s MVP. She walks away with the ultimate movie role this summer and plays it like gangbusters. Move over all other blockbuster actresses this summer. You gals don’t have nothing on Palmer who is the best of the best in terms of making her character fierce, strong and determined.

If there is a flaw in Nope, it’s that the UFO is a bit too mysterious and not explored enough by film’s end. The UFO is an antagonist that could have been dealt with a little more with some further explaining. Not that the movie doesn’t explain. It does. It just could have gone down a couple of other paths to make the film perfect.

I’d love to spend more time complaining about that particular aforementioned aspect of the movie, but I’m too excited to report that Peele rivals the legendary Steven Spielberg in the way he stages effective, cinematically satisfying scenes (many done in long shots) through the closing scenes of the movie. I don’t even know if Spielberg has made something this intense before when considering his resume of science fiction movies.

Nope is Peele in a new and exciting form. It’s a good direction for the filmmaker who many feel is one of the most remarkable talents working today. Keke Palmer is a genius for the way she has created Emerald and she has run away with the most intriguing female character at the movies this summer.

Rating: 9/10

Leave your thoughts on this Nope review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Flipboard.