Director Rian Johnson teams up again with actor Daniel Craig for "Glass Onion;" Netflix's sequel to the popular murder mystery "Knives Out."
Overall Rating: A
The story revolves around Miles Bron, an eclectic tech tycoon with too much money and time on his hands, inviting his small group of friends to a murder mystery dinner party in which he, will be the one murdered. The would-be entertaining night soon turns dark when one of the guests is actually murdered. After sarcastic one-liners, colorfully cinematic storytelling and sleuthing by the great Benoit Blanc, the audience is left with an "in your face reveal."
"His dock doesn't float. His wonder fuel is a disaster. His grasp of disruption theory is remedial at best." ~Benoit Blanc
Full of puzzling twists and turns, Director Rian Johnson goes bigger in almost every way. The satire is heavier, the great twist is more shocking, and the reveal leaves the audience wondering how they could have missed it all. However, bigger does not always equal better. Glass onion begins like a shot out of a gun with almost all of the main characters being introduced immediately however falls flat during the midsection.
Miles Bron sends his friends a complicated wooden puzzle box and how each of his friends opens it is telling to their character. Whiskey (Madelyn Cline), Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr.), Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn) and Peg (Jessica Henwick) all group call each other and work through each step of the puzzle. The threesome are wealthy, successful elites all at the top of their respective careers. Duke Cody (Dave Bautista) a popular twitch streamer seemingly oozing in male vibrato and masculinity, enlists the help of his mother whom he still lives with. Andi Brand (Janelle Monae) is introduced later. Brand is a cold scorned woman who answers her invitation by smashing her invitation box with a sledgehammer.
The apparent reunion of long time friends turns sour when Andi Brand actually shows up to the murder mystery party. Her former business partner Miles, seems taken aback that his old friend that he scorned actually showed up.
The drama heats up when it's revealed that Miles is the center of everyone's animosity however he is not the one actually murdered. Rather, it is Duke Cody the twitch streamer who is the murderer's first victim.
Unfortunately, the following 40 minutes seems to drudge on as detective Blanc interviews each party-goer and tries to unravel the mystery. All the while, dropping major hints along the way. In the end, the killer is revealed with a less than exciting explanation.
The sequel to the smashing hit, "Knives out"has yet to surpass the accolades of its predecessor. "Knives out" made a whopping $311 million dollars in the box office. After its one week in theaters and several months streaming on Netflix, the sequel has grossed $15 million so far.
Some blame the lack of sales on the release strategy of the sequel. Rather than keep the film in theaters for awhile like "Knives Out," production decided to do a one week release followed by streaming through Netflix.
Overall Assessment: If you want a fun movie to pop in for a movie night, this will not disappoint. Although a bit of a drag in the middle, the big twist brings new life to the film. With friends, it's easier to get through as during the more boring parts you can discuss who you think "dunnit."
Comments