COLUMN: ‘Nope,’ nothing spectacular, but a satisfactory movie

Camron+Hardy+is+a+sophomore+journalism+major+and+can+be+reached+at+581-2912+or+cahardy%40eiu.edu.

Rob Le Cates

Cam’ron Hardy is a sophomore journalism major and can be reached at 581-2912 or [email protected].

Cam'ron Hardy, News Editor

Jordan Peele’s third movie does not live up to the hype or to the standard of his previous films.  

Going into this film, the thought of underlying messages and having to think critically were expected, but after researching the meaning behind things, in general, the movie, was meager.  

OJ and his sister Emerald Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer) live in California and raise their deceased fathers’ horses.  

After their power goes out and they notice something foreign in the sky. They attempt to capture the events on camera but fail.  

A business partner of OJ takes advantage of this object in the sky and tries to profit from it.   

After reading multiple articles and watching videos, the primary meaning that sounded most accurate was relating to the film industry and how people are eager to obtain or chase a spectacle.  

A spectacle is a theme that Peele has incorporated in this film. 

In an interview with Fandango, Peele said, “I wrote it in a time when we were a little bit worried about the future of cinema,” he said.  

“So, the first thing I knew is I wanted to create a spectacle. I wanted to create something that the audience would have to come see.” 

Learning how certain parts of movies are connected is always a great experience because viewers can see something they missed and learn how certain topics in real life are linked with things in movies; especially the peculiar and minuscule things that the director intentionally included.  

After learning about what the meaning was, it was not as appealing as once thought.  

Maybe it was because there is a lack of knowledge as to what goes on behind the scenes in the film industry, if it even goes that deep.  

If the meaning is simply about people chasing to display something that is visually striking or simply entertaining, then the message was not as interesting as expected. 

There was an expectation of a message relating to something that everyone can relate to or has some sort of knowledge about.  

With “Get Out,” there was a message related to racism, and with “Us,” there was an underlying message connected with the perception of ourselves and how we express ourselves.  

Peele’s movies are complex to really decipher what the meaning is until he goes in depth and explains what he intended, but until then, viewers are left to draw their own conclusions.    

Palmer’s performance was above average. The parts where she displayed emotion were not overdone and played well into what was going on in those moment.  

It’s great seeing her getting a shining moment in current times and starring in new movies. She was already popular from older movies she played in, but she is getting casted in more movies such as “Lightyear” and “Alice.”  

Kaluuya’s performance was also above average. His character’s demeanor played well with the progression of the movie and how certain situations turned out. 

There were some shots where the cinematography was appealing. Peele used a specific Kodak film which allowed him to capture “40% more picture” during certain scenes (Tangcay, 2022).  

There was nothing really spectacular about this film, it was not as standout about this movie compared to his two previous films. 

All in all, it was a satisfactory movie.  

Rate: 2.5/5.  

 

Cam’ron Hardy is a sophomore journalism major. He can be reached at [email protected] or 217-581-2812.