Review - Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Written by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daniel Craig, Janelle Monae, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Jessica Henwick, Leslie Odom Jr., Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn
Running Time: 139 minutes
Rating: 5/5
Another equally delicious donut within the donut hole.
* SPOILER FREE REVIEW
Rian Johnson returns with Glass Onion, another whodunnit in his follow up to his commercial and critical hit Knives Out. Knives Out was one of my favourite films in the past five years and is insanely rewatchable. To this day I quote a nice “eat shit” in vain of Chris Evan’s deliciously terrible character of Ransom. So when I heard that Rian Johnson would be following up with his sequel Glass Onion I was honestly a bit worried. Could this film live up to its ensemble cast with a whole new set of actors? Would Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc be as equally as charming in this? I can confidently say that the answer is a resounding yes. In fact it might even be better if not equally as good.
“The standout however is not the cast or the direction but Johnson’s writing. Throughout it there are so many twists and turns that all feel earned and you can clearly see that the cast and production started on a strong base with it and only grew from there.”
This particular time, the story is set in Greece and centered around an island weekend getaway that each of the characters have been invited to by Edward Norton’s Miles Bron. It is Norton’s character that each of the characters has a particular connection too and allows the audience to figure out their motivations as to why they are there and who is responsible for the murder to come.
The cast, while all new aside from Craig, all shine in their particular roles and are equally as good as the original Drysdale family. Monae, Hudson, and Craig all are the stars of this and have the most fun with the material. The standout however is not the cast or the direction but Johnson’s writing. Throughout it there are so many twists and turns that all feel earned and you can clearly see that the cast and production started on a strong base with it and only grew from there. Without it I could see the film being lost in a sea of confusion for the audience but every set up is paid off by the end of the film and even things that you might not think are important are shown to be later.
The film is destined to be another hit for Johnson and looks amazing for Netflix as they have their standout of the awards season. I really hope it does well as I could watch a dozen of these if they were all up to the same quality. I can also see it winning People’s Choice by the end of the festival, as the film is an audience pleaser with its sharp writing and abundance of humour. Once it is out, watch it as soon as you can!
