Jordan Peele’s Nope Is Getting The Same Reaction From Everyone

Jordan Peele is back but does Nope hold up?

By Michileen Martin | Published

jordan peele's nope

Initially best known as one half of the hilarious comedy duo that brought us Key and Peele, Jordan Peele no doubt surprised a lot of people when he wound up becoming one of the most universally praised horror directors in cinema. He won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for his directorial debut, 2017’s Get Out, and likewise had critics raving over 2019’s Us. But can he possibly keep up that momentum? With Jordan Peele’s Nope finally here, could it possibly be as good as his previous films? He’s got to make a stinker eventually, right?

Maybe he will make a bad movie one of these days, but according to everyone who’s seen early screenings of Jordan Peele’s Nope, that isn’t today. Nope doesn’t have a Rotten Tomatoes score yet, but the critics are making their thoughts known on social media and if 2018 is any judge, Peele should get himself ready for some more Oscar noms. Reviewers are losing their minds over Nope. Below, you can find some examples.

Many of the reviewers seem to agree that Jordan Peele’s Nope is a breed apart from his previous work. Rather than comparing it to Get Out or Us, critics see it as being heavily inspired by a director who may not be the first name you think of when you think of horror — Steven Spielberg. In particular they point to Spielberg’s early classics like 1975’s Jaws and 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. You can see some of that insight below,.

Nor is the cast forgotten. Critics lucky enough to see Jordan Peele’s Nope earlier than the rest of us are heaping tons of praise on Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun especially. You can see examples of that below.

And in case you think it’s just the reviewers who are going nuts over it, Jordan Peele’s colleagues in comedy are loving Nope too. Funny man Bobby Lee tweeted that the film is a “f—ing masterpiece,” along with giving us a shot of comedian Bill Burr at the premiere right after Lee allegedly abused him with popcorn. You can see that tweet below.

For months, Jordan Peele remained incredibly tight-lipped about Nope, with most teasers and movie posters only hinting at the story. The first poster showed only an unnatural looking cloud in a dark sky with flags trailing out of the bottom. The first teaser did little more than show actors like Palmer and Yeun looking dumbfounded at the sky, without showing what they were looking at. Now we know that the film’s leads Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer star as siblings OJ and Emerald Haywood who recruit Angel Torres (Brandon Perea) and Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott) to help them get evidence of the UFO that killed their father (Keith David).

Jordan Peele’s Nope releases in theaters for the rest of us this Friday, July 22. Written and directed by Jordan Peele; the film stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott, Wrenn Schmidt, Keith David, Donna Mills, Barbie Ferreira, and more.