Jordan Peels expands his horror/sci-fi universe along with his muse and star, Daniel Kaluuya, in this homage to Close Encounters, though a scary one at that. As a writer, director, and co-producer, Jordan clearly has a vision and executes that vision with complete creative control. And that’s the problem. At almost two hours and fifteen minutes, everything is precious to Jordan, and nothing is trimmed for the sake of the economy of storytelling.
As such, many emotional beats are repeated, and inside this overwrought, overlong movie is a great movie forty-five minutes shorter, trying to get out. While being very adept at handling the spectacle, the story feels muddled from the lack of sharp editing. With that said, the great performances and beautiful cinematography, along with that spectacle, make the movie theater worthy.
NOPE, hampered by muddled storytelling, is still a thrilling horror spectacle – SEE IT!
