Movie Review: Glass Onion - A Knives Out Mystery

Knives Out was a standout movie from the mind of Rian Johnson which was released back in 2019. It was a major return to form for the murder mystery genre which has seen a notable revitalization since this films release. In a lot of ways it worked so well because it applied the conventional murder mystery formula in a more modern world tied with humour and smart writing. The heart of it was the southern detective himself Benoit Blanc who set a firm impression as one of the most charismatic detectives to solve some very peculiar murders. 

The success of the initial film saw Netflix and Rian Johnson go into contract to produce a series of films within this world. The Glass Onion serves as the 2nd movie within the series and follows Beniot Blanc as he gets invited to a weekend retreat on the island of Miles Bron; a wealthy tycoon. The purpose behind the weekend retreat is a themed murder mystery party for Miles and all of his closest friends. While the group of friends may all seem to be friendly with one another on the surface, there's a lot of deep rooted drama that links each of these people together. As the weekend proceeds the attendees soon learn there's a far deadlier game being played here and someone ends up dead and it's down to Benoit Blanc to solve the murder before anyone else get's killed. 

From a storytelling perspective I really enjoyed my time with this film. Every scene is filled to the brim with comedy and complexity. There's so many smartly delivered hints and red herrings plopped into the film that make you feel all the more surprised when Benoit pulls them up in the satisfying reveal sequence near the end. The characters who inhabit the film all have a lot of depth to them and the way they work off one another helps keep the dial spinning and suspicions rotating constantly. It's so much fun to see the films story play out in line with the tightly written script by Rian. It's a film which is capable of being inherently funny all the while delivering some shocking and suspenseful sequences. 

It's a beautifully shot film in a lot of respects too. The production value is on clear display from the minute the movie starts. Visual vistas and creative concepts are sprinkled all over the place and Rian makes sure to capture their beauty in a way which is appreciative all the while laying out key dependencies that will play into the crucial reveals later on. The performances from all of the cast deserve a lot of praise too. It's a star-studded cast just like the prior film and Rian makes sure to utilise these people to their fullest degrees with the characters they are handed to play. Whether it's Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Dave Batistia, Kathryn Hahn or Daniel Craig, all of these characters work brilliantly with one another and are the glue that holds this films mystery together. 

I liked how different this film manages to be when you compare it to the the first film too. It's core murder mystery concept isn't lost but it's not delivered in the typical fashion. In this movies case there's a lot of fake outs and deceptions layered within the runtime. One thing that stands out is the first half and second half play out very differently and they complement each other with additional information which makes a repeat watch all the more rewarding. Glass Onion is a fantastic film and a brilliant sequel to the Knives Out series. I'm happy to see the murder mystery genre doing so well in this current day and age and I am looking forward to seeing what Rian Johnson's next Knives Out film will be.