Film Review: GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY (2022): Daniel Craig is Back in a Wild Mystery Sequel with Plenty of Twists and Turns

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Review

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Noah Segan, Jackie Hoffman, Dallas Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Hugh Grant, Stephen Sondheim, Natasha Lyonne, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Serena Williams.

Writer/director Rian Johnson is a genius for coming up with the premise of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery which is the most wickedly entertaining movie of the year and, without a doubt, an absolute great time. Daniel Craig is back as the detective you wouldn’t want on your case if you did something wrong. Craig’s character, Benoit Blanc, was superbly conceived in the first film in the series from 2019, Knives Out, but his character is more structured this time out and the film has enough tricks up its sleeve to keep audiences guessing the whole entire movie. There is a terrific ensemble cast onboard this new picture but, in addition to Craig, there is one other major standout and that’s Janelle Monáe in a role that is guaranteed to make her a huge star, if she wasn’t one already. Monáe steals the film from everybody other than Craig and her work in the film is nothing short of priceless.

The film’s premise revolves around a wealthy tech billionaire named Miles Bron (Edward Norton in his best screen work in years) who has some guests at his huge home on a remote island as the main plot of the movie kicks into high gear. Miles is so well off that he supposedly has the real Mona Lisa picture right in his house. Dave Bautista (who’s very good in his turn here) is Duke Cody, a struggling YouTube personality who spies on the sexy Whiskey (Madelyn Cline) fooling around in bed with Miles. Duke comes off as a bit jealous. Norton’s Miles is the classic rich jerk who says he’s set up a mystery night for the crew and wants people to guess who murders him in a staged scenario, but Craig’s Benoit Blanc has other ideas and can see Miles’s wild scenarios from a mile away. Or can he?

Janelle Monáe’s character, Andi Brand, is the mysterious character at the heart of the movie. It seems that many characters of the movie hold a grudge against her but we’re not sure why. It all goes back to the days before this group of people made it big. There were old times at a bar called the Glass Onion where things were immensely complicated. Certain stuff was written on a napkin and that’s all I will say other than that things are about to get a lot more complicated as Johnson’s film reveals its plot one step at a time.

Kate Hudson is also back in top form as a former model named Birdie Jay who once graced magazine covers but is now struggling to live up to the expectations that she once lived up to. There are three other major players here. Kathyn Hahn, always intriguing, plays the part of Claire Debella who was at the Glass Onion way back when while Leslie Odom Jr serves as a character known as Lionel Toussaint.  The other guest at the home of Miles is Peg (Jessica Henwick) who seems to have an agenda of her own which she discusses with a central character in a key scene of the picture. Hahn is the best of these three and is entertaining to watch. She keeps her role interesting whenever she’s on screen. Odom Jr comes in second out of these three performers with a good turn that will help keep the viewer guessing. Henwick is OK but gives the least interesting performance in the movie.

Miles’s home is full of glass and keep that in mind for the film’s conclusion will take everything you watch during the course of the movie and unleash it in one of the most satisfying endings ever for a mystery film such as this one. The action would be a lot less exciting without Janelle Monáe who keeps her strong role the highlight of the picture’s plot, but she also runs away with all the most crowd-pleasing scenes. She is pure gold in the film whenever she confronts a certain character at the end who just happens to be the mastermind of the events that transpire throughout the picture. Well kind, of. It’s a bit more complicated than that.

Craig has some moments to shine on his own but is especially great in his scenes with Monáe. These players lay out the logistics of the plot in such a way that you won’t be able to move from your seat. When these two performers are on screen, it’s all eyes on deck. Craig’s role is not without humorous moments either such as when electronic voices go off around Miles’s home giving warnings to the detective which certainly do lighten up the darker scenes of the film. Speaking of humor, none other than Serena Williams gets one of the biggest laughs in the movie in a surprise cameo as well.

Madelyn Cline’s Whiskey is a character I kept my eye on because I wasn’t sure what to make out of her. Cline excels in her role here and it’s a nice little supporting performance in a highly entertaining film. The film’s ending is a classic signature showstopper with plenty of twists and turns and as flames abound, characters’ true colors come out and then some.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a terrifically conceived sequel to a good film. Johnson’s complex storyline, which even interweaves the pandemic into it with characters wearing masks and more, is nothing short of breathtaking to watch. There are some flaws here, though that hold the movie back from perfection. One is that the film’s opening scenes tend to drag before the movie gets to the main action and secondly, the picture throws so many plot twists at the audience willy-nilly, you may need a scorecard to follow them all. In fact, one character even uses a scorecard! Kind of ironic, isn’t it?

Still, with its Greece setting, Rian Johnson’s sequel ultimately hits a home run. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery should prove to be a tentpole movie for Netflix and it’s a sure-fire crowd pleaser. Craig is at the top of his game with his James Bond days behind him and Janelle Monáe could find herself getting some awards consideration for her work here. It’s also great to see Edward Norton working again in one of the juiciest roles he’s played yet. Don’t miss this film.

Rating: 9/10

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