Three years ago, Knives Out was one of the most fun movies of the year. A great mystery told with a lot of humour. Now Daniel Craig returns as the Southern detective Benoit Blanc, to crack a new case. None of the rest of the cast return. Instead we have Edward Norton as a tech billionaire Miles Bron who invites his friends, and Blanc, for a murder mystery party on his private Greek island called Glass Onion. The other guests include Kate Hudson as Birdie, an ex-model, Dave Bautista as a You Tuber, Katheryn Hahn as a politician, and Leslie Odom Jr. as a scientist. All of them owe Miles their success. Inevitably, someone dies for real, and Benoit needs to solve the crime.
The set-up, introducing all the characters/suspects was a little clumsy, but after that, returning writer/director Rian Johnson does not put a foot wrong. The resolution of the fake murder is hilariously done and the actual murder is a very knotty problem, full of twists and turns. I was wrong-footed by the moment, about halfway through after at least one murder has occurred, when we are taken back to a few days previously. It is only at that point that the truth starts to be revealed.
Craig, once again, is clearly having a blast. I cannot fault the rest of the cast, with Janelle Monae as Miles’ ex-business partner and Jessica Henwick as Birdie’s assistant. There are lots of fun cameos including from two famous faces who have passed away since the filming and a funny appearance by Benoit’s partner.
Great stuff and there is at least one more film featuring the sleuth to come.
Rating: 9 out of 10