Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery - Review

 

When “Knives Out” burst onto the scene in 2019, it had received critical praise, but audience reception was still up in the air. Then it virtually doubled its projected five-day weekend gross over Thanksgiving and went on to have some of the best box office legs of the year. For an original film to gross over $300 million worldwide and receive acclaim and best of the year awards in this cinematic climate was an achievement. This success led Netflix to bid an outrageous $460 million for just two sequels from writer/director Rian Johnson (“Looper,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”), the first of which has finally graced us in the form of “Glass Onion.”

Once again starring Daniel Craig (“No Time to Die,” “Logan Lucky”) as the eponymous detective Benoit Blanc, the film follows a weekend getaway hosted by tech genius billionaire Miles Bron, played by Edward Norton (“Birdman,” “Primal Fear”). He’s invited some of his closest friends for the weekend: Andi Brand, Miles’s ex-business partner, played by Janelle Monáe (“Moonlight,” “Hidden Figures”), Connecticut governor Claire Debella, played by Kathryn Hahn (“WandaVision,” “Mrs. Fletcher”), head scientist of Miles’s own company Lionel Toussaint, played by Leslie Odom Jr. (“Hamilton,” “One Night in Miami…”), former supermodel and fashion designer Birdie Jay, played by Kate Hudson (“Almost Famous,” “You, Me and Dupree”), and her assistant Peg, played by Jessica Henwick (“The Matrix Resurrections,” “Iron Fist”), and streamer and men’s rights activist Duke Cody, played by Dave Bautista (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Blade Runner 2049”), and his girlfriend Whiskey, played by Madelyn Cline (“Boy Erased,” “Outer Banks”). However, a mystery crops up and its of course up to Benoit Blanc to solve the case.

This review will be as spoiler free as possible because, for anyone who’s seen “Knives Out”, twists and turns are clearly Johnson’s favorite part of the genre. However, the two major distinctions about “Glass Onion” are the fact that you don’t have to have seen “Knives Out” to enjoy this new mystery and that the twists feel legitimately earned and well plotted. It’s the kind of movie that has just enough surprises to keep you guessing, while sprinkling enough clues throughout to make you think you’re piecing it all together. It also works in the sense that a second viewing will show you just where everything actually really did fit into place. Johnson’s script and plotting is so remarkably done that yes, they really did do everything they say they did, not just gaslighting you into thinking they did.

Although, as good as the mystery is, a film like this is an ensemble piece through and through, and Johnson has once again assembled a team of actors who are all having the time of their lives. It’s such a blast to see people like this play off each other, both for the film’s many hysterically funny moments and also for the drama. Because when it comes time for it, Johnson expertly balances the hysterical satirical comedy and the legitimate drama and stakes. There’s a point to be made, absolutely, but he never lets that point overpower the film’s legitimately enjoyable atmosphere and likewise never lets the idea of making an end-all-be-all fun movie temper those themes.

Craig is just as excellent as he was in the first film and manages to flesh Blanc out more this time around. He feels like a legitimate character, not just a justice system stand-in for each new adventure. Likewise, Monáe is doing some equally fantastic work. She’s been excellent before, but there’s an angle, a spark to her work here that sets it apart from everything else she’s ever done. The rest of the cast all manage to carve out their own memorable spots in the film without ever overshadowing each other. Hahn is a hysterical scene-stealer as much as she’s always been. Bautista is doing a great job skewering the kind of alpha male dudes he resembles in physique only. Hudson is just immaculately funny, and Henwick gets plenty of her own time to shine playing opposite her. Cline is great, balancing her previously established scene stealing delivery with the drama required for a tale like this. Odom Jr. is a great straight man to the unending chaos and ridiculousness of the weekend without being a spoil sport.

To watch Norton play a role that is clearly skewering a vast number of rich people that he’s likely encountered in his life is nothing short of incredible, and he delivers what is absolutely his best performance in years. His role is a perfect example of something Johnson does so incredibly well. It’s been evident in his previous films and especially is here: he is an actor’s director and is able to work so well with his cast to coax truly great performances out of them, regardless of the material. His touch is what sets a film like this apart; it makes it something where clear acting effort has happened as opposed to being a film that simple coasts along on the strength of its names alone.

What sets this film apart, and what makes it clear that if we are to get more annualized sequels that they’ll be great, is that despite the larger scaled sets, the lush locals, and the higher profile of the release, Johnson doesn’t let that distract from the craft. Its bigger, bolder, and funnier, but it still feels like the kind of movie he could have made before the previous one. Not just in terms of its easy ability to jump in without having seen the first, but in terms of its tight focus. It’s not the kind of movie that’s gotten away from its director because of money, but one that’s made better because of it. It lets him take bigger swings, play with bigger themes, and gives his creative team, like composer Nathan Johnson (“Knives Out,” “Looper”), more freedom with their craft as well. Speaking of, the new score here is an absolute delight, playing like some kind of twisted operatic orchestra that goes big with its strings when the moments need them the most.

It's hard to guess just how much money Netflix could have made if it had let “Glass Onion” play in more theatres for longer than just one week, but if the rabid audience attendance is anything to go by, they have another bona fide modern classic on their hands. And they’re right; “Glass Onion” is just as entertaining as the first, sprinkling in even lusher locations and bigger swings with the rest of Johnson’s now trademark twists and turns. If this begins a trend of one new “Knives Out” mystery during the holidays every two years, it’ll be a tradition well worth the wait. 5/5