Nope

I saw a bunch of extremely mixed reviews of this when it came out, and I guess if you were expecting something more in line with Peele’s previous movies - I.e. horror - then I can understand being a little thrown by an ostensibly sci-if action/adventure movie.  But boy did I love this.  I spent the first half of Nope wondering what the hell was going on and how a wild monkey tearing up a sitcom set in the late 90s had anything to do with ufos on a horse farm in the present day but Peele pulled it all together in a second half that just does not stop. Thrilling doesn’t cover it I was getting closer and closer to the screen! While it’s not a horror film per se, there are definitely horror elements to the story - the Big Bad is a pretty terrifying concept - and it’s clear that the director is a seasoned horror pro with some of the choices made, but that just lent itself to the memory of sci-fi adventures I watched when I was a kid. Close Encounters was scary when I first saw it, and this borrows from that quite a bit: sometimes literally, sometimes just in tone or scope.  The score is superb, the sound design as a whole was incredible. From the moments of silence to the sound of the beat itself - not to mention the echoes of its victims reverberating through the chasm of its gaping maw.  Daniel Kaluuya is just brilliant too. Cast him in more things please. His understated looks convey so much with so little! And Keke Palmer is equally amazing, despite bringing almost the exact opposite energy as Kaluuya in every scene. Perfect leads.  Grab some popcorn, stick this movie on, and get lost in an old school adventure.