When Knives Out premiered in 2019, no one could have expected it to become one of the most beloved and successful films of that year and when plans for sequels were announced, everyone was hoping their new favorite Southern fried gentleman detective would return and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery has not disappointed both in terms of its intrigue and colorful characters.
Set in the early days 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, Benoit Blanc and a cadre of seven friends receive an invitation from eccentric tech billionaire Miles Bron to join him on his private island for a fun weekend in the sun and a scripted murder mystery. This review will avoid spoilers as much as possible but be warned in case you wish for your experience to be spoiler free.
Glass Onion wastes no time in introducing this new menagerie of characters and they are precisely the type of people who would flaunt COVID travel restrictions and lockdowns; the tech billionaire who espouses bullshit and buys things without appreciating their value, a “men’s rights” YouTuber who insists on bringing a gun to his vacation along with his arm candy girlfriend who is not qualified for any of her lofty aspirations, a politician more concerned about their own advancement than her constituents, a scientist buckling under the weight of an overbearing boss, a dimwitted former model who arrives in Greece wearing a lace mask along with her long suffering assistant. Among this group is a steely eyed Janelle Monáe who seemed destined to chew the scenery in a Rian Johnson whodunit caper.
Taking the time to dissect how this group knows each other and their complexities is explained throughout Glass Onion but Benoit Blanc retains his calm, collected and observant manner audiences loved from Knives Out and Daniel Craig even manages to dial it up even more. The irony cannot be ignored as he publicly wanted out of the James Bond franchise only to join a new franchise but this seems to be a character that has tremendous growth potential and Craig truly has an opportunity to flex his acting muscles in a way he was not able to do as James Bond. Thanks to some clever sleuthing from Blanc, the weekend is comically cut short until an actual murder takes place and the game is afoot.
As alluded to in Glass Onion’s trailer breakdown, the island and the home becomes its own character as the suspects navigate around, take in the opulence and be caught up in the mystery. Blanc plays the outsider and offers his quick wit and thoughtful insight to the cast of characters. He is quick to recognize mediocrity, hypocrisy and deception as he unravels the murders (yes, murders) in rapid and hilarious fashion. Do not expect any sort of major twist but do expect to be entertained and to leave the film feeling satisfied at the conclusion.
If you were expecting a completely different film from Knives Out, well you would be right to do so but Glass Onion should be considered an anthology film as it certainly expands the world of Benoit Blanc and inserts him into a new group. It does not quite rise above its predecessor due to the length and its awkward pacing at times but then again, was anyone really expecting it to be demonstrably better than Knives Out? It is still a worthy follow-up to what should be considered a modern classic.
VERDICT: 4 spearguns out of 5
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is written and directed by Rian Johnson and stars Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monáe, Jessica Henwick, Dave Bautista, Madelyn Cline, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr. and Ethan Hawke. It will be available on Netflix on December 23, 2022
Featured Image Credit: Netflix
