Nope  ★★★

TWO out of three is pretty good in any language.

In the case of American film director Jordan Peele, his first film, Get Out, is a modern horror classic and the follow-up, Us, isn’t far behind.

Both films deliver as straight thrillers and multi-layered examinations of societal issues, past and present, related to class, culture and race.

They are expertly plotted and presented within riveting narratives.

Peele’s third and latest film, Nope, is less successful but still warrants watching on the big screen

It still provides an interesting exercise for the mind in deciphering the director’s coded social messaging and, more than Get Out and Us, it also showcases an ability to manage some major visual effects accompanied by the best sound design since Dune

But what’s lacking is empathy with the main characters and the emotionally draining experience overall.

The film starts in startlingly intriguing fashion on the 1998 set of a television sitcom featuring a large chimpanzee named Gordy which has just turned on the human cast members.

We then cut suddenly to the present day and a ranch in southern California where the owner is struck down by debris falling from the sky.

The main narrative begins soon after when we join trainer O.J. Haywood, played by Daniel Kaluuya, on a sound stage trying to keep calm in the face of ignorant film crew members. O.J.’s sister Em (Keke Palmer) does the talking for her quiet and taciturn sibling.

Their Hollywood Horse Hire business is in financial trouble, leading them to sell some animals to local Western theme park entrepreneur Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park who, as a former child performer, was a survivor of Gordy the chimpanzee’s rampage.

In the threatening clouds hovering near their property O.J. and Em become convinced they have seen an Unidentified Flying Object. They resolve to get footage of the phenomenon they can sell to the highest bidder.

As with Peele’s previous films, there are important details imbedded in every scene and all aspects, from character or animal names and seemingly minor props to sound effects and character back stories, have a place in examining the themes of exploitation, celebrity, racism and the opportunistic and obsessive natures of the human mind.

Nope does not impress as greatly on first watch, but I will definitely be giving it another try as my faith in Peele as a wonderful film-maker is not diminished.