Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review

WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY: 

BENOIT BLANC’S THIRD CASE IS ONE OF HIS FINEST! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

NETFLIX

Daniel Craig and his potential suspects in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

 

            Daniel Craig (James Bond franchise, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Queer) and his fake southern accent is back as Detective Benoit Blanc in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the third chapter of writer-director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi)’s Knives Out film series. If you read my reviews for the previous films then you should already know that I greatly enjoyed the first Knives Out movie from 2019 and its 2022 sequel, Glass Onion quite a bit and hailed them as very clever and entertaining murder-mystery movies with Craig crafting another cinematic icon out of his Blanc performance. 

            You bet your ass I was excited for a third movie when it was announced to be in development with Johnson back in the director’s chair and Craig reprising his role. However, unlike Glass Onion where it was released widely in theaters for only a week before premiering on Netflix, Wake Up Dead Man is being shown in limited theaters followed by a Netflix release later. 

            Knowing me, I went out to the theater to watch this because a film with this much talent both in front of and behind the camera should not be watched for the first time on streaming. I’m glad I did because Wake Up Dead Man is yet another terrific mystery from the mind of Rian Johnson and it might actually be my favorite of the films. 

            This one goes darker than its predecessors and dives into heavy subject matter like religious radicalism while still retaining that sly sense of humor from the other movies and crafting an engaging and gripping mystery. The film is very fun and witty, but it’s not afraid to get disturbing every once in a while and push its PG-13 rating to its limits. 

            The film follows Rev. Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor-The Crown, Challengers, The Mastermind), a former boxer turned Catholic priest being sent to a church in upstate New York led by the charismatic and domineering, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin-True Grit (2010), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dune: Parts 1 and 2). But when Wicks is somehow murdered in a confined room, master detective Benoit Blanc (Craig) arrives at the church to crack the case and find the culprit. 

            The film also stars Glenn Close (101/102 Dalmatians, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Wife) as Martha Delacroix, Mila Kunis (Family Guy, Black Swan, Friends with Benefits) as Geraldine Scott, Jeremy Renner (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mission: Impossible franchise, American Hustle) as Dr. Nat Sharp, Kerry Washington (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Fantastic Four 1 and 2, The Last King of Scotland) as Vera Draven, Esq., Andrew Scott (Spectre, 1917, Blue Moon) as Lee Ross, Cailee Spaeny (On the Basis of Sex, Priscilla, Alien: Romulus) as Simone Vivane, Daryl McCormack (Fair City, Peaky Blinders, Twisters) as Cy Draven, Thomas Haden Church (George of the Jungle, Sideways, Spider-Man 3) as Samson Holt, Jeffrey Wright (The Batman, Rustin, American Fiction) as Langstrom, and Noah Segan (Brick, Looper) who had previously appeared in Knives Out and Glass Onion as different characters as Nikolai the Bartender. 

            Overall, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery adds another sharply-written, intriguing, and brilliantly crafted murder mystery to Rian Johnson’s Knives Out franchise. While I unintentionally called out the culprit in the first movie through a joke Facebook post which was a surprise in and of itself, I legitimately didn’t know where this was going and was constantly guessing who the person (or people) responsible is/are. 

            I feel Johnson perfectly understands that the best mysteries are the ones where anybody could be a suspect and subvert people’s expectations as it’s being pieced together. The film keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout and makes you wonder where it’s going and what the outcome will be like and it never loses any steam during its 2 hours and 20 minute runtime. 

            Daniel Craig is once again great as Benoit Blanc with his Foghorn Leghorn-style southern accent though in this film he acts more like a supporting character with Josh O’Connor’s Jud being the true protagonist with Craig not even appearing until 20 minutes into the movie. But he still brings his charm and wit to the role and shows off his comedic side as a radically different character from 007. 

            Josh O’Connor, like Ana De Armas in the first film is a very endearing protagonist as a boxer who killed a man in the ring and his shame and guilt over that is what draws him to Christianity and becoming a priest. I mostly know him from last year’s Challengers and he was great in that, but this really showed me his capabilities as an actor because he sells the tragedy of his predicament and his need to atone for his past. 

            The supporting cast is also magnificent which shouldn’t be a shock given the talents and each one is given moments to shine. Some of my favorites are Josh Brolin who commands the screen as the intense and abrasive priest who gets murdered and Glenn Close giving some of her most consistently entertaining acting since Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians, she made me laugh almost every time she was onscreen. 

            The cinematography and production design is amazing though nowhere near as outlandish as the mansion from the first or the building that was a literal and the titular glass onion from the second. The church setting and lighting in various scenes in said church make it seem very big and epic especially for a murder mystery, they also do something with the sun lighting in certain scenes where people are giving their versions of the story which I thought was very clever and effective. 

            Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is a magnificent murder mystery with Rian Johnson being a powerful force of nature in the genre. It’s funny, it’s engaging, and it keeps you guessing until its jaw-dropping revelation, I greatly enjoyed my time with this movie and I eagerly await more adventures with Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc in the near future.