To expand upon my quick thoughts in the video, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a murder mystery comedy film written, directed, and produced by Rian Johnson (Looper). Featuring Daniel Craig, reprising his role from the previous film, alongside newcomers Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista. The film is a standalone sequel to Knives Out (2019) and the second movie in a planned trilogy. The story follows Benoit Blanc, as he is invited to the private Greek island of business magnate Miles Bron for a weekend getaway. When someone turns up dead, the master detective must solve the case before the killer strikes again.
A delivery man drops off a package at the house of Governor Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn). Her husband (Dallas Roberts) tells her that she received a box from Miles (Edward Norton). Unbothered Claire begins an interview with CNN about the upcoming U.S. Senate race. At Alpha, head scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr.) is speaking with investors about an upcoming project when he also gets a package. Elsewhere, Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson), a former supermodel turned fashion designer, is throwing a house party and gets her phone taken away by her assistant Peg (Jessica Henwick). She also receives a package and starts a three-way call with Claire and Lionel about what Miles sent them.
In his garage, Twitch streamer and men’s rights activist Duke Cody (Dave Bautista) talks to Jimmy Kimmel about his love of boobs and how his earlier statements were misconstrued. His girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline) joins him in his stream before his mom (Jackie Hoffman) yells out that he received a box. When Duke reprimands her for interrupting his interview she slaps him for talking back to her. Duke joins in on the call with the others and they open the box after Duke’s mom figures it out. They collectively solve the rest of the puzzles inside until the puzzle box opens up. Inside is an invitation from Miles’ asking his inner circle to join him on his private island to solve the mystery of his murder.
Off the heels of directing Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the most divisive Star Wars film of the Skywalker Saga, he needed something to get fans of his work back on his side. Knives Out was exactly the right project for Johnson as it was a big win. A murder mystery starring Daniel Craig with a southern accent is the furthest thing from Star Wars you can think of. The film was a massive hit with critics and fans alike even racking up a Best Original Screenplay nomination at the 92nd Academy Awards. Fans were wondering how soon a sequel would come.
Luckily for Johnson, the “Streaming Wars” were heating up and Netflix, flush with cash, was hankering for more content. So much in fact that they acquired the rights to two sequels to Knives Out for around $470 million. Beating out Lionsgate, Amazon, and Apple. Johnson would retain full creative control of the films with the only contingencies being that Craig must star in the sequels and that each movie must have a budget of at least $40 million. Netflix clearly overpaid as only a theatrical release would ever get them close to getting that money back. Something the streamer recently relented to even if only for one week.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic hoped to hinder the production of the film Johnson incorporated the event into the plot of his new whodunit. The characters are shown being stuck inside, attending Zoom meetings, and wearing (or not wearing) masks to protect themselves from the spreading virus. This was a genius move by Johnson as it makes the world feel more real and lived in. Gives the viewers more to connect with. In terms of the story, Johnson did not retread what he did in Knives Out and went with a fresh take. We have a new cast of characters and a different exotic location. The only connections are the return of Benoit Blanc and the suspects being an affluent group. The tale Johnson weaves this time around is even wilder and more interesting than the first.
The cast of Glass Onion is bursting with talent. Not a single poor choice in the group. The chemistry between them is eclectic and makes you wish, as with the previous entry, that each of them would return for a future installment. Who knows, if this franchise continues maybe we will see familiar faces return. Daniel Craig is once again fantastic as Benoit Blanc. We get to learn a little more about his personal life in this film and his thoughts on social deduction games. His detective skills are pushed to the edge as sometimes the simplest cases are the hardest to comprehend. Among all the newcomers, however, Janelle Monáe steals the show. She is chewing up the scenery every time she appears on the screen. Her character is special in a way that audiences will not see coming.
Overall, Rian Johnson has delivered a terrific follow-up to Knives Out. The cast is great and the mysteries are fun to try and solve along with the cast. There are a few twists and turns that are sure to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. I give Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery a Decent 8.6/10. If I were Rian Johnson I would steer clear away from Star Wars and start shopping parts 4 & 5 of this franchise out to potential buyers A.S.A.P.