‘Nope’ First Reactions: Jordan Peele’s “Most Ambitious Film”

Nope, Jordan Peele’s third feature film, is already receiving favorable praise.

With Nope, Jordan Peele‘s third feature film, having its official release later this week, a number of critics who got the opportunity to see an advanced screening of the movie have now shared their first reactions on it — and most of them are favorable.

Everyone from Philly magazine Editor-at-Large Ernest Owens to Fandango Managing Editor Erik Davis have extended praise to Nope, with the former saying the movie is excellent and “isn’t what you expect and the trailer doesn’t give it justice,” while the latter said it’s “one of the best films I’ve watched this year.”

Keke Palmer has also received her own nods in many of these first reactions. Aside from Owens and Davis, entertainment figures like A Black Lady Sketch Show writer Robin Thede have also praised Palmer’s performance.

A handful of the reviews have also hinted at Nope being in the vein of Steven Spielberg’s filmography, specifically Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

However, not all first reactions have been full praise. Although Hollywood Critics Association member Scott Menzel called Nope Peele’s “most ambitious film” to date, he also said that it’s his weakest, too.

“The first act is superb but by the second, it loses its footing and becomes a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie with Spielbergian elements. It lacks a sense of focus with a story that is never fully realized,” Menzel tweeted.

This lack of focus in its story is also something Critics Choice Association member Sharronda Williams noted in her reaction to the film.

With Nope dropping on July 22, we’ll all soon be able to offer our own thoughts on it. Until then, if you need a primer on everything that’s been released about the film, we’ve got you covered.