Benoit Blanc returns, with a cast of A-listers from Edward Norton to Janelle Monáe, in Rian Johnson's witty new whodunit.
The First Was Good...This Is Better: A witty, mind-bogglingly absurd, and funny new novel featuring Daniel Craig as legendary Deep South detective Benoit Blanc. Writer-director Rian Johnson has established his own model of murder mystery work, positioned equidistantly between the Agatha Christie approach, in which the culprit is revealed at the end, and the Columbo approach, in which it happens at the beginning. Here, as in the first film, the identity of the culprit gradually emerges in the second half, not so much as a twist as an unfolding pirouette. But Johnson and his enigmatic, slurred detective keep us on our toes.
Director: Rian Johnson
Writer: Rian Johnson
Stars: Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson
Edward Norton is an insufferable technician named Miles Bron who has become a billionaire thanks to his involvement in Alpha, an online network that merges data, news, and cryptocurrency. He invites a bunch of friends and fellow "disruptors" to his private island with its gigantic domed building called the Glass Onion for a murder mystery themed party: these include politician Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn), supermodel-turned-designer Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson), YouTuber and men's rights activist Duke Cody (Dave Bautista), scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr) and, most awkward of all, Cassandra Brand (Janelle Monáe), who had the Alpha's original idea but was kicked out of the company. by Miles and his lawyers with barely a dollar.
But also among the guests is Benoit Blanc himself. Bron says that he didn't invite Blanc, but lets him in anyway, amused by the prank his guests are apparently pulling on him. His idea is for someone to fictitiously "kill" his host and the guests have to figure out who and why. Things get deadly serious, and of course, the ashen-faced guests turn to Benoit to save them.
Glass Onion is never less than entertaining, with its succession of A-lister and A-plus-lister cameos popping up all over the place. And Johnson uncorks an absolutely sensational flashback about half an hour into the action, which then unfurls to the present day, giving us all sorts of cheeky point-of-view-switching revelations. Craig's outrageous leisure-themed outfits are a joy and Monáe gives a tremendously enjoyable comedic performance as the woman with more than one secret to reveal and more than one grievance to bring against Norton's disgusting musky plutocrat.
"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" revives the wacky, puzzle-mad spirit of the first "Knives Out," which was also written and directed by Rian Johnson. This time the satirical stakes have been raised. Miles Bron is a more mature target with more recognizable real-world analogues than the eccentric novelist played by Christopher Plummer the first time around. A lone musketeer of disruption, he mantras about the glory of "breaking things" and covers up his bottomless greed and shallow narcissism himself in flashy messianic robes. He's not just a rich guy: he's a visionary, a genius, an author of the amazing human future.
All of Miles's friends are bought and paid for: a model-turned-fashion mogul (Kate Hudson); an idealistic scientist (Leslie Odom Jr.); a bloated, overly inked men's rights YouTube influencer (Dave Bautista); and the Governor of Connecticut (Kathryn Hahn). The people named in parentheses have a blast introducing contemporary archetypes, and Madelyn Cline, as Bautista's girlfriend, and Jessica Henwick, and Jessica Henwick, join in on the mystery banter and quietly steal scenes as Hudson's assistant.
Two other guests show up for the murder game, though they don't seem to be there in the same hedonistic spirit as the rest. One is Cassandra Brand, known as Andi, Miles's former business partner. She's a familiar figure in tech mythology, the genius present at creation who is ousted by a more ambitious, unscrupulous, or media-savvy co-founder. The Eduardo Saverin to Miles' Mark Zuckerberg, one could say, or perhaps the Wozniak to his work.
Andi's presence on the island is something of a surprise, as is, though not for "Knives Out" fans, the arrival of Benoit Blanc, the world's greatest detective. Once again, Blanc is played by a floridly post-Bond Daniel Craig, now sporting an absurd but somehow appropriate collection of neckerchiefs and pastel shirts, and speaking with what was once described as an accent. from "Kentucky Fried Chicken Foghorn Leghorn".
Watch Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery 2022 Movie Trailer
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