Entertaining, but not what most people will be expecting.

Rating: 6/10 (3 April 2019)

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this movie, just like I have mixed feelings about movie reviews. I think to understand my critique of this film you'll have to know a bit about my tastes, but if you don't agree, just skip to the next section, otherwise here goes: I love movies, good movies, bad movies, low budget, blockbuster, every genre from every corner of the world. The two types of movies I tend to enjoy least are romantic comedies and blockbuster "horror" films. I don't understand the hype around the Insidious series or the Annabelle series or really most big budget horror flicks since The Grudge. I am a huge fanboy and therefore I have an innate appreciation for fellow fans and the amount of heart they put into their passion projects. 'Nuff about me.
About the movie: Us shines most through the performances of it's actors- each one of whom was well cast- and it's myriad references to the decade from which it's creator got his inspiration. The latter, might in the end actually hurt Us in terms of mass appeal, because if you are not a big fan of 80's cinema, I feel much of the films charm will be lost on you. I think what actually hurts Us the most though, is Jordan Peele's passion. The movie feels like a freshman project, and I would be surprised if this wasn't something Jordan had been cooking up in his head since childhood. There's no nuance to the congruent themes throughout the film, most of which are shoved in your face, and even mentioned in dialogue at one point. The last act of the film is half exposition used to lend a backstory that's not really wanted or needed, it's actually not unlike a lot of the good sketches on Key and Peele that don't seem to know where to cut it off. Like, you had a good thing and then you drove it into the ground. Ultimately it's a movie I would recommend, I would just caution people to adjust their expectations and understand that Jordan Peele is a nerd who won an award for a movie ha made, and was given the freedom to do what he wanted and so now he's made the movie he's been wanting to make since he was 12, and you can tell. But that's just like, my opinion, man.