Last week saw the limited release of Rian Johnson‘s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery before it is released exclusively on Netflix on December 23. My wife and I jumped at the opportunity to see the film since we recently got into Agatha Cristie‘s murder mysteries after listening to them on long car rides. We also had a blast with the first film and were excited to see what Johnson could do with an essentially new cast.
However, I was not ready for how much fun this film was.
I had a blast seeing this film. Glass Onion was, honestly, hands down, the most fun I have had a movie in years. Granted, covid put a damper on going to the theater for a few years. But damn, it was fun.
The film is one of the first I have seen to directly reference the pandemic and the existential dread we all faced in those early days. Working from home, parties with your extended “pod,” and fashionable cloth masks, or the lack thereof, are all showcased humorously. Daniel Craig‘s Benoit Blanc, the only character returning from the first film, even sits in his bathtub for days playing an online version of Clue with his celebrity friends.
Here in the dredges of covid lockdown, we find our cast of characters lost and drifting through the lockdown. Their misery changed, however, when they received an invitation to a weekend getaway from their billionaire friend Miles Bron, played by Edward Norton, to play a murder mystery game on his privet Greek island. It doesn’t take long, though, for the cracks in the group’s friendship to show, leading to an actual murder to be solved.
Each actor brought their A-game to the film, to the point that you could feel their chemistry through the screen. Dave Bautista‘s meathead Duke, Kathryn Hahn‘s uptight liberal Claire Debella, and Kate Hudson‘s ditzy Birdie, in particular, were so much fun to watch as they stumbled their way through their interpersonal drama and Bron’s outrageous island home. Norton delivered a fantastic performance as Bron, bringing to life the ever-so-visible megalomaniac billionaire trying to reshape the world into their vision. Craig’s Blanc continues to delight with his Hercule Poirot-inspired detective skills and Foghorn Leghorn accent.
However, I wish we got more insight into Jessica Henwick‘s Peg, who plays Birdie’s assistant, and Madelyn Cline‘s Whiskey, who plays Duke’s trophy girlfriend. While we are shown some of their history and personality, they seem superfluous to the film’s overall narrative.
Another facet lacking in the film was the mystery itself. In the first Knives Out film, suspicion was placed on almost every character as to who the murderer was. Everyone was a suspect, and no one was safe, even the main character. In Glass Onion, however, the film’s central mystery is abandoned in favor of a prolonged and momentum-busting second-act flashback.
The film, unfortunately, is still determining who it wants to have to drive the narrative, especially once it enters the latter half of the second act. Initially, Blanc is presented as the audience stand-in and central focal point of the story, following him as he explores the island and interacts with everyone there. Then, however, without spoiling too much, the film shifts its focus to Janelle Monáe character, leaving little time to develop a rapport with her. In essence, the film can’t decide who it wants to be, the story’s focal point, and does little at the outset of the film to establish dual protagonists, instead relying on flashbacks to varying degrees of success.
Glass Onion is an apt title for this film. The story appears to have layers of mystery and intrigue, only for the story’s true heart to be in plain sight all along. The writers are making fun of their story and world instead of trying to outdo the first film, which is a refreshing take on a sequel.
In all, I had a blast watching Glass Onion. I had forgotten how fun going to the movies could be, and I had a blast watching the ensemble cast have fun with their characters. While the film could have used some more time in the oven, it still feels like a worthy sequel to the first Knives Out and sets up character threads for Blanc, which I am excited to see explored in future films.
Score: 4 out of 5
Do yourself a favor and see this movie in the theater, and if you can’t manage that, watch it as soon as it once it released on Netflix on December 23. You’ll have a killer time.
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