When Jordan Peele released his first film “Get Out”, it became an instant hit. Audiences and critics were thrilled with the scares and engaged with the racial commentary the movie provided. It became one of the few Horror films to have been nominated for Best Picture. The follow-up, “Us”, was more complex for general movie audiences to digest. The feel of the movie was more reminiscent of Horror from the 1970s or 1980s. It actually felt inspired by the work of one of my personal favorite filmmakers, John Carpenter. Audiences still overall enjoyed it but critics and film fanatics had a ball dissecting the themes of Peele’s sophomore project. Now we have his third has come out and it’s time to see what it brings to the table.

If your looking for a film that is a spectacle to watch, then this is something you should check out. The story centers around a horse wrangler ranch in California, one that has historically worked on a number of movie sets. But the death of the family patriarch brings brother & sister home (Daniel Kaluuya & Keke Palmer respectively) and they try to financially save the ranch by taking a picture of a UFO that visits at night and selling it. Both of these actors bring strong performances to the screen. Kaluuya brings a quiet yet engaging personality to his character while Palmer brings energy that balance each other out and make them entertaining to see interact. All the performances in the movie are honestly fun to watch. From Steven Yeun who plays a rather interesting character during the first of the movie. To even Brandon Perea who plays the tech support comedic role that helps our main characters try to get evidence of alien life.

Several people have pointed out similarities between Jordan Peele’s movie & M Night Shyamalan’s movie “Signs”. Both take place on a farm/ranch and have the families deal with alien life. But that’s really as far as the similarities go. Shyamalan’s film was a dour movie, the characters devoid of any real personality. The aliens in the movie had standard designs and were taken out pathetically easily. Peele’s characters bring both depth and humor to their roles, making you both tense but can also make you laugh. And the reveal of what exactly is stalking their ranch is actually a fin spin on your typical Hollywood UFO flick. The climax of the movie is the most action-focused of Peele’s film career and that is where the spectacle of the movie takes center stage.

However, the one major flaw of the movie is the social commentary. Or rather, the movie’s failure to provide an easily identifiable connection between it’s commentary and the events playing on screen. The movie starts off with a rather tense and dread filled scene that connects to Steven Yeun’s character. You can feel that this backstory is in the film for a reason and that there is a connection between it and what’s happening in the present. But you will probably struggle to figure out what that connection is as your watching the movie. Of course, you can ponder it and do research following the credits. But it will ultimately be a distraction for you if that’s what you are going to this film to see. While “Us” is probably more abstract with it’s themes, it does provide enough clues and small details where you can at least start making the connections as you watch it. But there might be some people who will be initially confused by what this new offering has to say.

Overall though, this is a very enjoyable film. One that provides spectacle and commentary, even if the latter is a bit tricky to properly identify. A film that enjoys playing with tropes and the familiarity of this kind of UFO story that has tense scenes and entertaining performances. I would say that this is definitely worth going to the theaters for.