Nope

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⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by Tim)

Jordan Peele has my lifetime pass after Get Out, and while I wasn't super in to Us I will always be excited for his original and exciting movies. This one was no exception, and while it didn't turn out to be what I expected I had a great time and feel like it will be replaying in my head for a while.

Its a bit unfair that everything he will make will forever be compared to Get Out, but that's what you get for debuting with a masterpiece. This one is a very different movie, taking place on a ranch in the middle of nowhere where some alien entity keeps gobbling up their horses. Kaluuya is amazing, as always, and I loved his lack of energy as a rancher who appears to be more emotionally tied to horses than to people.

I do think this movie was slightly too long, and the slow build up of the first hour leads to exciting scenes that felt a bit drawn out. I think when I said it wasn't what I expected I meant that I wasn't expecting to watch Jaws, because that's kind of what this is. The plot is driven by some strange character motivations that I guess make sense, essentially trying to capture footage of this thing to make money.

The real fascinating bit are these flashbacks to this horrific incident involving a chimp in a family sitcom. I can't stop wondering how that incident relates to the overall themes and plot, what connections Peele is trying to make. Get Out felt like a masterpiece story he had been brewing on for years, and I can't help feeling that this and Us were stories that grew more out of specific ideas, the ideas in this movie being the Chimp and the UFO.

Us didn't land for me because I felt like he was trying really hard to make a statement that didn't connect, and this has a bit of that too. There are clearly statements on non-White workers in Hollywood and how they are overlooked, and also something about spectacle and are refusal to turn away from it at any cost. It just doesn't feel as refined as Get Out. Unfair to compare, but as I said that's his own fault.

Anyways, I don't want to sound like I am complaining. I got a lot of 2001, Jaws, Signs, and many other influences in this movie, and it was fun to watch in theatres with a group of friends. My online readings about this movie have been unsatisfying, and I am sure I will revisit it again in the future to unpack more of what it means.

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