Reel Rating: 8.5/10 | 3-min read | Rated PG

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ‘GLASS ONION’

Glass Onion is a whodunnit on top of a whodunnit on top of a whodunnit all being controlled by the puppet master himself, Rian Johnson. There’s not much I can give away without spoiling the fun; Everything is bigger and brighter this time around for Benoit Blanc as tech billionaire Miles Bron invites his friends for a getaway on his private Greek island. But when someone turns up dead, Blanc is put on the case and must solve one of the smartest and dumbest mysteries of his career.

I was a huge fan of the first Knives Out film, it’s definitely the best modern-day murder mystery I’ve seen. So when it was announced that Netflix had acquired it and was going to make more I was ecstatic. I should say that Glass Onion started at an automatic disadvantage given that I was unable to watch this one in theatres. Netflix made this weird decision only to give Glass Onion a 1-week theatre run and then take it straight to streaming. Netflix please never do anything like this again, I am quite sure this alternative release method did not yield the result you were hoping for. Knives Out is a series that is meant to be seen on the big screen!

The highly anticipated sequel, as with Knives Out (2019), was a very enjoyable first watch! No matter how much I ponder upon what could’ve been after the fact, it will do nothing to diminish the enjoyment you get while this mystery unravels in front of your eyes for the first time. There is a lot to love in Glass Onion, most of that can be attributed to Daniel Craig’s enthusiastic performance and a story that keeps you guessing from beginning to end, but was this movie bright enough to escape the shadow of the original? The answer to that is almost as complex as its plot:

Rian Johnson is a Master of the Whodunit!

Rian Johnson’s storytelling style is like a weaving river; just when you think you know what’s gonna happen, a current comes and takes you in the complete opposite direction. A good puppetmaster lets the audience believe they are the experts, constantly throughout the film I was pinpointing moments like “oh here we go back to the first one”. As if I was hoping that there was an end to his genius, or that I had actually outsmarted the mystery like I was Benoit Blanc. But every time I felt like I had it, Glass Onion sent a little reminder that said “Nope, no you don’t”.

Especially loved the detail about Duke’s cup, a forced fabrication causing the audience to question what they even saw. What an amazing way to get viewers involved, I was definitely sitting there saying “He totally handed Duke the cup!” Having the benefit of being able to rewind because of its immediate release on Netflix, an option I didn’t have for the first movie. I was tempted to rewind initially because I know what I saw. Though I could feel that maybe this was another one of Rian’s tricks, and it was…brilliant.

There is only one more film under the current Knives Out contract, and I believe this third upcoming film will be the ultimate test for Rian Johsnon to solidify himself as one of the greatest mystery writers of all time. Making one successful film is achievable, you can get lucky on the second riding high on the success of the original, but making a standout third film means you’re truly one of the greats. I believe Rian Johson has the talent to do this, but there are a few aspects of Glass Onion that will need to be improved on for Knives Out 3 to achieve this.

A New Cast & A New Mystery: Peeling Back the Layers of Glass Onion

I always feel that the hardest task for a Whodunit is to come back and one-up themselves. That is an extremely hard thing to do. Now did Glass Onion one up the original? In many ways yes. It is a complete testament to Rian Johnson’s ability that I don’t have all the pieces worked out until 2hr18min of a 2hr20min movie. Knives Out 2 brings together another great ensemble cast, I don’t know if it was the flashiness or ultra-scaleup of the sets and cinematography, but the characters just didn’t wow me as much as the first film. They all felt somewhat miscast in their roles, maybe not miscast but just lacking some of the traits the characters you would expect the characters to possess. The entire film felt like a subtle satire, and I’ve loved movies like this in the past; Tropic Thunder (2009) is one of my go-to films, but that’s just not the tone I want from a movie like Glass Onion, not to this extent at least.

This is a consistent theme from the first film, but I don’t believe you’re meant to like any of these supporting characters, I mean they enter the story as shitheads and leave the story as shitheads. And because nobody really exhibits any development other than Whiskey (Madelyn Cline), in Glass Onion they just become replaceable side characters. Edward Norton was alright, I mean he should be given the amount of screen time and storylines revolving around him, but it’s far from his best work.

Janelle Monae did an excellent job just like her character counterpart played by Ana De Armas in the first film. I do love how in spite of the circumstances of the story, like most people, you could see her character Helen was having fun solving the mystery. Her dynamic with Blanc was great and always kept me smiling throughout the film, a great casting choice.

The real star of the show for Knives Out will always be the writing. Like an Agatha Christie “Poirot” mystery, the supporting cast will always change depending on the case, but I definitely feel there’s room to improve casting-wise for Knives Out 3.

Let’s Talk about Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc

In his second bout as the notorious detective. Daniel Craig brings much more than that memorable southern droll to the table. With Glass Onion, Craig shows a much more human side to Benoit, and he’s a joy to watch in every scene. Rian Johnson said that he was heavily inspired by Agatha Christie’s Poirot, and you can definitely see it in Craig’s performance. He’s also astronomically better than the actual Poirot reboot being led by Kenneth Branagh.

Benoit Blanc’s entire character in Glass Onion was a definite attempt to distance himself from James Bond. Whether that’s thick southern droll, colourful outfits, or his subtle homosexuality. Craig has shown that he not only wants to keep acting for the foreseeable future but is also someone that studios don’t have to worry about being typecast by fans. The classic Bond smoulder though looks like it’s here to stay.

My Big Problem with Glass Onion:

There’s one big reason why I feel Glass Onion will never surpass Knives Out in my head, and it all has to do with the ending. After watching Knives Out, you leave the story with an unquestionable ending. The Murder had been solved, Hugh (Chris Evans) went to jail, Harlan left everything to Marta, and there was nothing that the family could do about it. Case closed.

The conclusion of Glass Onion felt less certain of itself. I couldn’t tell if the good guys actually won or not. Even though Helen (Janelle Monae) seemingly gets the last laugh on Miles (Edward Norton) by blowing up the Glass Onion, and having all the “friends” turn on him, what does this do for the overall case of getting justice for Andy? Just hear me out:

Miles burned the original napkin, the only piece of evidence that they could use to overturn the case. On top of that, even if the friends change their testimonies, they will be convicted of perjury, and their words probably won’t mean anything going forward. Given this, I just can’t see a future for these characters where this isn’t just a minor blip in the grass for Miles Bron’s billionaire resources.

Perhaps they find a way to convict him for Andy’s murder, but having no witnesses combined with no evidence, we just can’t say anything for certain.

Now dwelling on what happens after the curtains have closed shouldn’t be the biggest deal to the audience, and there’s a chance none of what I have just said would actually happen, but given how much the ending of Knives Out sealed the envelope on that story I didn’t think Rian Jobson would leave this one so open-ended 🤷‍♂️

The Future of Netflix Movies: Bring Knives Out Back To Theatres!

Glass Onion is a great film, though because of Netflix’s decision to only play the film in theatres for one week, the made-for-the-big-screen Knives Out sequel will likely get drowned in this sea of Netflix’s streaming content. Even Rian Johnson is personally campaigning for his own film to have an extended theatre run. The film reportedly only pulled in $15 million at the worldwide box office during its theatrical run, falling plenty short of its predecessor which earned $313 million. I just can’t see how Netflix plans on making up that difference in new subscribers, and I’m hoping that leads to Glass Onion being released back into theatres 🤞

Seriously Netflix, I do wish I could have seen this in theatres. Please don’t make the same mistake with Knives Out 3, or any original movies going forward.

You can watch Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery NOW on Netflix. Though for the best viewing experience I would totally recommend going to the theatre if it’s playing.

As always, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy this film as much as I did! And check out more new movie reviews on our website here