Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery – Review
139 Minutes, Rated PG-13
Written and Directed by Rian Johnson
**NOTE: this post will be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, you can read Mark’s review below. Stay tuned.**
Synopsis:
Detective Benoit Blanc travels to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery involving a new cast of colorful suspects.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I love the fact we now have TWO different whodunit? film series going on: Kenneth Branagh’s excursions into Agatha Christie’s “Hercule Poirot” series and now Rian Johnson’s original “Benoit Blanc” films.
It’s like when spy movies finally came back and now we have Bond, Bourne (fingers crossed), and Mission Impossible.
The 2019 film Knives Out came out of nowhere, it simply dropped on an unsuspecting theater-going public with its cast of stars, irreverent tone, and drop-dead genius performance by Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, the “southern-fried world’s greatest detective.”
Johnson’s first film post The Last Jedi not-quite-debacle was enthusiastically received, making $310M+ at the boxoffice. When the by-then inevitable sequel was green-lit, it seemed like a no-brainer.
Now, in 2022, we have Benoit Blanc stumped, not by any ingenius villain or dastardly criminal mastermind, but by a worldwide pandemic which has locked him away as tight as anyone he’d ever captured.
It is not a pretty sight for a mind so active to be so constrained, starved of challenge, seemingly devoid of hope and slowly losing its grip on itself. But wait…
…a knock at the door brings a mystery: an invitation to a beautiful, private Greek island by tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton), accompanied by Bron’s disparate group of friends, Birdie, Duke, Claire, and Lionel, along with his former business partner, Andi (played wonderfully by Janelle Monae).
The point of the weekend excursion? To play and win a murder mystery game: the murder of Bron himself, who has spared no expense to arrange the game to entertain this group.
But all is not as it seems on this island, beginning with Blanc’s invitation, and circumstances quickly conspire to turn an innocent game into an all-too-real search for the truth.
And that is all the spoilers you’re going to get, I’m afraid, because, as with the first film, the joy of this one is watching the cast of characters slowly reveal (or conceal) their true intentions and try to piece together the actual events for yourself.
I’m happy to say I caught a great many (but not quite all) of Johnson’s breadcrumbs, and was suitably annoyed at the ones I didn’t until Blanc revealed them to us.
Rare is the sequel which doesn’t disappoint, but Glass Onion manages that feat admirably. Though not quite surpassing the sheer genius and unexpected glee of the first film, Glass Onion builds on the Benoit Blanc mythos and whets the appetite for another entry in the franchise…
…perhaps this time something with a culinary bent? The Menu has certainly proven the viability of watching people eat and be confused.
The performances are all solid, highlighted by Craig and Monae, but also by Jessica Henwick (Mythic Quest) and Madelyn Cline (Stranger Things) as those who also have a stake in the game, are enjoyable, and allow Johnson to provide even more uncertainty to the mystery.
Bottom line: if you enjoyed Knives Out, you’ll enjoy Glass Onion.
And if you didn’t enjoy Knives Out, what on Earth happened to you as a child?
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery hits theaters on November 23 (and Netflix sometime soon after) and stars Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline with Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista.
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