Movie review: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Photo / AP

The original Knives Out movie was a sparklingly clever murder mystery. Director Rian Johnson’s 2019 film was also a quaint throwback to a time when all you needed for a hit was an old manor, a gruesome yet puzzling murder and a detective who noticed everything we didn’t. The Daniel Craig-led movie wasn’t just a hit, it was a phenomenon. So much so that this film-out-of-time has improbably launched a franchise, with Netflix playing a cool $ 450 million for the rights to make two sequels. Glass Onion is the first and is streaming now.

This time around there’s no dusty manor. Craig’s charismatic Southern gent detective Benoit Blanc is instead attempting to work out whodunnit on a glorious private island owned by a billionaire tech bro Miles Bron, played spectacularly by Edward Norton. Bron has assembled his friends for their yearly reunion and has organised an elaborate murder-mystery game that quickly goes off the rails.

So is this highly anticipated sequel a twisty-turny triumph or a big bold blunder?

It’s a question I pondered almost as much as the crime that’s at the heart of Glass Onion. Johnson, who again wrote and directed, has really swung for the fences with his sequel. He’s doubled down on red herrings and fake outs and you can tangibly feel his delight in pulling the handbrake up and sending any theories you may have been cultivating spinning around on themselves. He plays with time by invoking lengthy flashbacks and has the script force you to frequently re-evaluate your perspective on his all-star cast of characters.

All this cerebral ducking and weaving does tend to lead you into the improbable, and I’m fairly sure that the crime would be unsolvable by any armchair detectives watching along - although as genre tradition dictates there is a thrilling ‘reveal’ montage where throwaway lines are shown to be of major import in solving the crime.

The film’s often very funny, with a light and playful tone that keeps you engaged even while you’re scratching your head. As fanciful notions play out against implausible situations, it’s hard to shake the feeling that it’s a little too clever for its own good. That said, Glass Onion is an easy, entertaining, if increasingly convoluted, watch. But by going so large it feels like it’s missing a little of the magic that the first film captured so brilliantly.

3 Stars

Cast: Daniel Craig, Janelle Monae, Edward Norton

Director: Rian Johnson

Running time: 139 minutes

Rating: M (Violence and offensive language)

Verdict: Not as sharp as the original but still an entertaining romp of a murder mystery.