Since being released in July, Jordan Peele’s “Nope” has made a whopping 170.8 million at the box office worldwide according to Box Office Mojo. Receiving mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike, Nope has received an 82 from Rotten Tomatoes. 

The movie starts with a scene on the set of the 1998 sitcom, “Gordy’s Home.”The scene entails a family celebrating their chimpanzee’s birthday, ultimately startling the chimp and causing him to attack and kill most of his costars and the audience. The scene finishes with the chimp being shot down by authorities and ultimately scarring the childhood actor known as Ricky “Jupe” Park.

When brought back to present day, we meet Otis Haywood Sr. and his son, Otis “OJ” Jr. While training horses, Haywood Sr. is unexpectedly killed by a coin falling out of the sky. Since his father’s death, OJ has turned to selling horses to Jupe, who runs Jupiter’s Claim, a western-themed theme park nearby, in order to keep the ranch afloat with his sister, Em. 

While working on the ranch later on that night, OJ and Em notice their electricity flicker before going out completely and see a UFO flying overhead. With the help of Angel, an electronics store employee, the pair decide to get evidence to get famous.

Through trial and error, the three create a plan to capture the UFO, dubbed Jean Jacket,  on camera with the help of Antlers Holst, a well-known cinematographer. Since Jean Jacket interferes with electricity, Holst uses a hand crank camera to film the event. 

When the plan goes awry involving Holst getting eaten by the creature, OJ, Em, and Angel are forced to flee to escape Jean Jacket. This results in the Haywoods having to “challenge” Jean Jacket in order for Em to escape using a motorbike. 

Em ends up fleeing to Jupiter’s Claim and releases one of the blow-up mascot’s, allowing her time to get a picture by using the Claim’s hand crank camera to get a picture before Jean Jacket is killed by the balloon exploding inside it after being consumed.

As the movie ends with Em getting a full center shot of Jean Jacket and media arriving soon after, Em sees OJ on one of the horses safe.

Overall, very good movie; I saw the movie in theaters and it was thrilling the entire time with the various scenes showing Jean Jacket’s predatory and alpha personality. The acting was excellent showing the relationship between OJ and Em and the CGI of Jean Jacket was spectacular. The movie soundtrack helped with directing your attention and feeling in various scenes as well. Peele did a fantastic job keeping the suspense up about what Jean Jacket really looked like until the very end. My issue with the movie, though, is there I didn’t feel satisfied after watching it. Leaving the ending open to make it available for interpretation and open for a sequel is understandable, but I felt the ending could have been tied up a bit more. I also didn’t realize that it was a Sci-Fi movie from the trailer, but that could have been the point. 

I would give this movie 4 out of 5 stars. I would 100% watch this movie again, but maybe just in the comfort of my own home. 

You have a chance to see the film this Friday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. at Contra Costa College. The film will be shown near the tennis courts. Movie and snacks will be provided, just bring yourself, something to sit on, and dinner for yourself.

It’s “first come, first served” for spaces so get there early!