*Minor Spoilers
Table of Contents
Introduction to Us Review
Ever since seeing Get Out, it was obvious that Jordan Peele had a lot of talent under his belt. Whether it was the symbolism, social commentary, or horror that messed with the mind. Having seen Get Out, there was a lot behind Us when it was announced. Every trailer gave a bit more that helped to build a stronger train of hype up until the movie hit theaters this past weekend. Despite this, Us doesn’t live up to the expectations of Jordan Peele even if the concept was one of the strongest.
The Story of Jordan Peele’s New Movie Us
The movie follows Adelaide who experienced something traumatizing as a kid that has followed throughout her life. She is married to Gabe with her two children Zora and Jason. They seem to live a comfortable life, enjoying some time at their beachside home. That is until their doppelgangers show up and all hell breaks loose. To avoid further spoilers, I’ll end the description there. This is more than enough to get the gist of what is going on.
Where this movie really soars is in its concept. It feels like something right out of the Twilight Zone, which is great because Jordan Peele is also working on the new Twilight Zone TV show. Truly the concept was fleshed out and interesting throughout the movie. However, it did feel somewhat down when the movie started to feel more and more like a home invasion horror movie versus something more intricate and compelling. And that’s not to say that the movie was not either of these two things, just that its overall base lacked that something extra. It would’ve been interesting to see more about this world and how it came to be rather than spending most of the time in home after home hiding and trying to escape from a place we are already familiar with. Still the concept really kept things going.
Us and its Logical Errors
I’d have to say that the first act was incredibly strong. It garnered interest, paid close attention to the details, and was everything that I would want for an introduction to this movie. It was fantastic. Then act II starts and that’s when things took the home invasion turn. Things became less interesting, it felt too familiar, and then I was asked to suspend my disbelief too many times. I’m not one of those people who can just disregard logical issues or inconsistencies and this movie had those which bothered me a great deal just because I expected more. The unfortunate thing is that this movie explained too much to the point where they either had to explain more or explain much less. Due to the over explanation, certain things didn’t quite make sense with the logical consistencies that Us itself laid out. If these things were explained in less detail or left to the audience’s imagination, a few of those logical inconsistencies would’ve been rendered moot.
The last portion of Us picked back up on the mythology of this world which again held an interesting idea. Then there was the ending twist which I saw coming as I’m sure many others did as well. There were little things throughout the movie that were present that helped to make the conclusion at the very least. It didn’t feel like out of left field or anything.
With all of that said, the movie was still very good. Usually, logical inconsistencies would be enough to ruin a movie experience for me, but this movie excelled enough elsewhere that somehow, I was able to forgive these things and still enjoy the movie. Something almost unheard of from me. The rest of the movie was just THAT interesting. And though there were logical inconsistencies, they weren’t deep enough to outright break the movie which is good at the very least.
The Characters of Us
The characters in the movie did hold my attention pretty well. Though this was most likely due to the absolutely superb acting, especially from star Lupita Nyong’o. Before this movie, I thought she was a fine actress, but now I see her as a master of the craft. Everybody else did a fantastic job as well, but Lupita was on another level with her talents. Which is good because overall, the only character with much depth was Adelaide. Everyone else seemed rather lacking. I won’t go so far as to say these characters were one-dimensional, but they didn’t seem to go through as much growth as one would expect given the events of the movie. Perhaps Jason shows a little more to him, but the others certainly fell behind.
Jordan Peele’s Direction
Jordan Peel’s direction of Us was exceptional as expected. Most of the problems came from the errors in the script more so than his actual direction. Every scene seemed to be masterfully placed within the movie and the way he must’ve directed the actors must’ve been a masterful approach because the acting excelled above all else.
Jordan Peele once again shows that he certainly knows what he’s doing when it comes to directing and it makes me excited to see what else he has in store in the future. His placement throughout sent a message and helped to coincide with some of the symbolism and social commentary that was expressed in Us.
Overall, there was much to enjoy from this section.
The Design of Us
Everything in the visual design of this movie was great. Still images could be framed in my mind, showing the impression that the visuals left on me. There is a lot of praise deserved here as everything just fit so well together and in contributing to the horrifying nature of the film.
That said, where the design of Us really takes off is in its music and sound. There was this theme that would play at some of the most horrific parts that raised each scene and kept the tension going. The sounds were all fitting and the scary nature of the movie never seemed to be lifted much due to the sudden silence or music that would play. Not only that, but the music itself was crafted just so perfectly. Aside from the placement of the music, in and of itself the music was
Overall Enjoyment of Jordan Peele’s Us
Overall, I felt as though Us was a solid movie. Due to some of the logic inconsistencies and errors, I can’t simply call it a masterpiece. There were things that I would fix if I could, but all in all the movie was still very enjoyable.
Jordan Peele has a very strong career ahead and with this movie, I have high hopes for his upcoming Twilight Zone series.
| Us’ Story, Script, and Characters | Out of 35 | 24 |
| Acting in Us | Out of 20 | 20 |
| Jordan Peele’s Direction | Out of 15 | 11 |
| Design (Visual and Sound) of Us | Out of 15 | 13 |
| Overall Enjoyment of Jordan Peele’s Us | Out of 15 | 10 |
For other scores on Us, check out sites like metacritic or rottentomatoes
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