Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery review

GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY: 

DANIEL CRAIG AND HIS FAKE SOUTHERN ACCENT ARE BACK IN ANOTHER WELL-CRAFTED MYSTERY! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

NETFLIX

Daniel Craig in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

 

            Daniel Craig (Layer Cake, James Bond franchise, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)) returns as master detective Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the latest film from director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) and follow-up to his 2019 caper hit Knives Out.

            I thought the first movie was an entertaining take on the whodunnit genre with a star-studded cast, very tongue-in-cheek humor, and a captivating mystery that keeps you on your toes. The film was a critical and commercial success when it was released thus spawning a sequel with a one-week limited theatrical release before landing on Netflix soon after. 

            That’s where Glass Onion comes in and like its predecessor, I had a really good time with this movie. I don’t think it’s quite on the same level of quality as the first film, but the cast is putting their all in their performances, the humor gets some good laughs, and the mystery is consistently interesting. 

            The film follows Benoit Blanc (Craig) being invited to a murder mystery party getaway hosted by tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton-American History X, Fight Club, Moonrise Kingdom) on his own private estate (Complete with a glass building literally in the shape of an onion) on a Greek island.  But when someone actually does turn up dead, Benoit Blanc must peel back the layers of this new murder and find out who the killer is. 

            The film also stars Janelle Monáe (Moonlight, Hidden Figures, Harriet) as Andi Brand, Kathryn Hahn (Revolutionary Road, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Marvel Cinematic Universe) as Claire Debella, Leslie Odom Jr. (Red Tails, Hamilton, The Many Saints of Newark) as Lionel Toussaint, Jessica Henwick (Game of Thrones, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Matrix Resurrections) as Peg, Madelyn Cline (Boy Erased, This is the Night, Outer Banks) as Whiskey, Kate Hudson (Almost Famous, The Four Feathers, Deepwater Horizon) as Birdie Jay, and Dave Bautista (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spectre, Dune (2021)) as Duke Cody. 

            Overall, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a worthy continuation of the Knives Out storyline while also being an enjoyable murder-mystery on its own merits. Despite being a sequel, this film is pretty self-contained and different in tone compared to its predecessor so you could easily watch it without seeing Knives Out and still have a great time. 

            Really, the only similarities it has with its predecessor are Daniel Craig and the non-linear storytelling. The film will reveal information that you need to know, flash back to it from a different perspective, and give you a better understanding of the bigger picture of what’s being unfolded, which is applicable to the title and the literal Glass Onion because you are peeling layers of the mystery like an onion as the film goes on. 

            This one is a little more comedic than the first film and plays like a mystery-comedy in a similar vein to Clue: The Movie rather than a traditional whodunnit. Granted, the first Knives Out has its share of funny moments, but it is still a murder-mystery at its core whereas with Glass Onion, it often goes back and forth from being suspenseful to comical. 

            Right down to the ridiculous architecture of a giant glass onion observatory standing on top of a mansion with technology so high-tech it puts Tony Stark to shame. I’m just looking at this and thinking “What a cartoonish-looking fortress we got here, and I’m a fan of a show that has a butterfly-themed supervillain who flies in a cocoon ship. 

            It doesn’t just stop at the onion building, the characters themselves are very exaggerated this time around, even more so than in the first film. I don’t think the characters in this film are quite as refined as the ones in Knives Out and felt more like caricatures of characters to reflect the film’s comedic tone. 

Granted, the characters in Knives Out were already caricatures to an extent, but they did feel more realistic and there was enough time devoted to them for the audience to get to know who they are. Aside from the already established Craig from its predecessor, Edward Norton, and Janelle Monáe, I felt many of the characters in this to be rather underdeveloped despite the cast bringing their A-game. 

Daniel Craig is as charismatic as ever as Benoit Blanc complete with the same Southern accent we fell in love with in the first film. He is just having a great time chewing on the dialogue, dismantling and analyzing mysteries, and becoming frustrated when he realizes he’s trying to solve a mystery surrounding by mostly dumb people. 

Much like Ana de Armas from the first film, Janelle Monáe is also a stand-out in this movie as Miles’ ex-business partner Andi. However, giving details about her character would go into spoiler territory which would ruin the fun. 

If you enjoyed Knives Out, you’ll definitely have a great time with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Whether you’re watching it on the big screen or next month on Netflix, this is one case worth taking.