Jordan Peele surprised just about everyone with his breakout hit, Get Out (2017), which also served as his directorial debut. Talk about making a grand entrance! Amassing more than 250 million dollars on only a 5 million dollar budgets had execs at Universal Pictures salivating in their eagerness to see what else was packed away in Peele’s genius mind that was, until that point, most known for his comic talents. Fans were even more excited of the prospect of experiencing further nervous nirvana with his next offering.
The time has come to experience the chapter in unconventional fearmongering for cinematic fun. A big reason for the film’s success was that it caught moviegoers off-guard because it was nothing that anyone saw coming. This review contains deliberate vagueness for the reader’s benefit. It’Where will his next journey take Us?
Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) is about to spend some time away with her family, but this trip won’t be as relaxing and fun as everyone thinks. Gabe (Winston Duke), Adelaide’s husband, is really the ring leader of this trip and encourages everyone to just take a page out of his book and just go with the flow. Their children, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex), will just have to make the best of family bonding time. When four strangers show up on their property unannounced, the tension begins to rise. This family is in a fight of for their lives in a battle that they didn’t even know existed. If they’re going to survive the night, they will first need to solve the mystery of just what in the hell is going on.
In trying to mirror the success that Get Out brought forth, Jordan Peele’s follow-up feels considerably forced given how naturally the previously flowed. Us takes audiences on a wild amusement park-like ride, but just like the love/hate relationship people have with those attractions, it’s not for everyone. You can count me as one of those that had very high expectations of Peele’s sophomore effort only to have reality smack in the face.
The marketing machine has worked tirelessly to built up the latest feature, and with that, our expectations as well. Us feels more like a two-hour Twilight Zone episode rather than a movie. There are questions that go unanswered and paths not ventured, as if someone decided to save those tasty tidbits for another time. It’s not that you won’t feel entertained because you will. It’s the whole symbolic artistic perspective that avoids giving black and white answers. It’s almost like you came into this thing ten minutes late and left five minutes early.
The acting is decent from a quality standpoint. Lupita Nyong’o has been a consistent force since her big stage coming out party in 12 Years a Slave (2013). From that point, Nyong’o has just solidified her positioning as one of the better female performers in today’s acting arena. Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex round out the main four. This quartet of actors brings a unique quality to this film which will take some getting used to. Jordan Peele creates some very interesting characters with this being no exception. There are definitely foments to be seized by these actors.
The bottom line is that most of the ingredients are present and accounted for. Unfortunately, Us did not resonate with me and I feel that there will be a surprising number of people that feel the same way. This is by no means a “terrible” movie, but it’s also not one that people will be talking about weeks from now. Mildly disappointing might be the best fitting adjective here. This is all about the fact that Jordan Peele, whom so many hold in such high regard (and rightfully so), is the man behind this work.
For those reasons just mentioned, Us will put up some decent numbers in the box office. It’s just not up to the standard that he set with his last film. And if someone needs to explain to you why it should be considered good after you’ve seen the movie, there’s an obvious disconnect somewhere. If you don’t want be on the outside looking in, feel free to see this in theaters now. I’d recommend pumping the brakes while waiting for some lesser expensive ticket prices.
