Não! Não Olhe!

I can honestly say I have never had any movie grip me with so much curiosity and excitement in the first 30 minutes only to end with so great a weight of disappointment at it's close.

As others have pointed out, it's difficult to understand why - given the plethora of avenues that were available and sure to be imagined by so talented a mind as Jordan Peele - this is where the film was taken.

There was boundless opportunity for storylines that could have classed in the same category of special and original as Get Out and Us - Peele's previous works, but the film became bizarre. No other word for it.

Peele's characters are usually so believable, and it is one of the cornerstones of his work that has best enabled audiences to feel so enraptured and immersed prior to Nope. That convincing forming of character is missing in more than a few here. Not - it should be noted - in the two main characters played by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, but when surrounding and still important characters fall so flat and insincere in the majority of the film, it takes a lot away from the strong work Daniel and Keke produce.

I don't know whether I'm more disappointed at the execution of the film, or that so valuable an opportunity for alternative and haunting plot lines was wasted.

It was generally not good - and it really pains me to say that.

I hope we are not about to see the Shyamalan effect with Jordan Peele, where the debut film is amazing and everything that follows leaves you scratching your head. I feel like I'm on that road with Peele's body of silver screen work. "Get Out" was a masterpiece, while "Us" jus didn't do it for me and now "Nope!"

Keke Palmer did her thing in the role she played (she is the star of this movie for sure) and Daniel kept up with a good performance in his own right, but the film itself was something outta the Twilight Zone. More of a sci-fi thriller than a horror flick, it had too many holes and unanswered questions for my liking. Peele's approach to filmmaking is amazing, much like Shyamalan, but the stories, like Shyamalan's are starting to fall short of being good films.

Jordan may have dreamt this story and woke up at 5am and jotted down every detail he could remember. And like our weird dreams, they never make any sense and we forget a lot of the details by the time we wake up! Nope was like one of those weird a... dreams!

It would have been a good, suspenseful horror movie, leaving you wondering what on earth is happening... IF it hadn't been for the most over-the-top exaggerated extroverted Keke Palmer filling EVERY SINGLE silent moment where you otherwise COULD have been finding out what's going on yourself.

Mysterious things finally start happening, and while you otherwise would have been left with your own thoughts looking at the mystery through Daniel's perspective, the bubble of mystery is instead burst by Keke's SHRILLING vocal outbursts through the entire ordeal.

The exaggerated, comical accent and tone just ENTIRELY kills the otherwise eerie suspense for me.

Every single attempt of horror moment, she manages to kill. No pun intended.

1. Commentary on exploitative social media accounts that strive for the most clicks regardless of who they negatively impact.

2. Keke Palmer's eccentric performance as Emerald. She should be in way more movies.

3. Daniel Kaluuya's deadpan one liners.

4. Rewatch value, there is build up to each twist and shocking moment. Mysterious and ambiguous scenes become scarier after learning context.

5. Foreshadowing: it is absolutely everywhere. Sometimes done subtly, other times obviously.

6. Subtle details; highly detailed set, script, and outfits, down to the logo on one of the main character's shirt.

7. Sound effects. It goes beyond typical horror noise cues, using unique sounds to build-up scares. The blood curdling screams loudly echoing as the creature flies by are terrifying.

8. Akira motorcycle shot. Thank you Jordan.

6.7/10

While "Nope" is a visual spectacle I found that it didn't sit as well as I would've hoped when it came to the story. However, it still manages to reach its goal of entertaining on some level.

The film felt slightly long due to the first and third acts feeling fast and somewhat stuffed with a lot of goings ons while the second act felt very slow and drawn out. The long parts put me into a state of boredom, and even further than that, once the reveal of the antagonist happened, the magic and tension disappeared. Before that tension disappeared I found there was some good tension built up due to the soundtrack, but again, things fell short.

As for the horror parts, I assumed there would be more than just the ones shown in the commercial, and while there was, again a lot of the horror/magic disappeared once the antagonist was shown.

I did find the acting to be very engaging. Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer each brought great energy to their roles, and the supporting actors were equally enjoyable.

Overall, a decent film, but if I could go back I would wait to see it on a cheap night. Acting was enjoyable, the cinematography was spectacular, but the story, the length of the film, and the antagonist weren't up to the par I was expecting.

Thank you for reading my review. Until next time.... Enjoy the show!