In most reviews I’ve read about Glass Onion, director Rian Johnson’s follow up to his hit 2019 campy whodunit Knives Out, there’s a mention of Mr. Johnson not being too happy with how the studio added “A Knives Out Mystery” to the title. It’s indicative of how he wants this new Benoit Blanc adventure to stand on its own, like another novel from a popular crime author would.
I mean, it’s not as if Daniel Craig hasn’t played a popular movie character before whose film entries had their own standalone titling. The marketing reasons make sense, but this is definitely a very auteurish project on his end so I kinda get where he may be coming from.
Frustrated on his lack of skill playing Among Us with friends online, his hunger for a new case to crack falls in his lap in the form of an invitation to a mysterious island owned by Miles Bron, an eccentric billionaire who’s invited a group of friends to his home for a murder mystery role play.
Things get turned upside down when guests start pushing up daisies, turning the game into something deadly and real. Alongside Miles’s former partner Andi Brand (Janelle Monae, playing dual roles here), Blanc dives down a rabbit hole involving a strange new type of energy source Miles created, who the killer is and how it all connects to Andi’s missing twin sister.
Both of the Blanc movies have a strong populist stream in them, but it’s not to where the stories are trying to preach to the audience. It’s clear Rian Johnson uses his work to skewer the types of folk that rub him the wrong way, but it’s executed in a funny manner and the t never feels heavy handed.
I’ve always said that if you create art or just content in general your world view is going to come out in some fashion, and Glass Onion isn’t different from that, but the affluent louts Benoit encounters are more the kind you’ll love to hate. You can leave this film and still enjoy the adventures of characters like Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne or Scrooge McDuck afterwards, fictional people with influence who actually use it productively.
Similar to the first Knives Out entry, it follows a formula of a character from a working class background seeing Blanc’s assistance, with the two of them working as a team to solve the mystery, and the suspects are a group of wealthy and eccentric pricks. Still, Glass Onion has enough unique aspects about its turns and eventual rug-pulls to keep it from feeling like a carbon copy.
Craig’s performance as Blanc is once again well ranged- he has the same kind of presence and poise that he brings to his James Bond, but he’s applying it to a much looser and warm hearted character, with humorous moments that don’t undercut the building tense.
Still, like before the supporting cast plays a huge role in all of the fun. Dave Batista shines as a dude to clogger who’s actually a momma’s boy, as does Kate Hudson’s moronic supermodel and Leslie Odom Jr. as an unethical scientist . Monae is as very engaging heroine, and Norton’s delusional billionaire Bron is both funny and contemptible. The filmmakers don’t explicitly state that Miles is supposed to be based off of Elon Musk, but that’s partially because the real Musk through his own actions will often do Rian Johnson’s dirty work for him.
It’s easy for me to say that Glass Onion gives you more of the same kind of sleuth story as it does follow some similar beats to Knives Out, but because of how the mystery unravels and the heroes’ unique methods in order to solve the riddle, it still stands on its own as a clever romp in its own way. The social themes are still
intact, nevertheless it’s the funny and fascinating motley crew of personalities brought together in a single location that makes it worth multiple watches.
What was your take on it? If you’ve streamed it, let us know your feelings on it at FAN’s social media hubs as always!