2019 was a year of surprises, at least film-wise. Many consider it one of the best years in cinema in recent memory. I disagree and consider these last two years (2021 and 2022) better. Still, I agree that 2019 delivered some astonishing works, many of which I think are the best of the respective filmmakers. Mark Jenkin’s “Bait,” Bertrand Bonello’s “Zombi Child,” and Pietro Marcello’s “Martin Eden,” are solid examples. Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” was one of those surprises, which became an instant hit and created a murder-mystery craving in Hollywood. What made that film tick was the witty-yet-smart script, the well-selected cast who bounced off each other perfectly, and a nice unraveling of the whole mystery aspect of the narrative (although I knew who the murderer was way before the film started, and wasn’t entirely charmed by it).
‘Glass Onion’ is Forced to Recapture the Charm of the First Installment
Thanks to the success of “Knives Out,” many other filmmakers tried to do their own highly comedic murder mysteries stories to fill the audience’s hankering. At the same time, they wait for the second installment of Rian Johnson’s creation. “See How They Run,” “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” and “Death on the Nile” are some examples.
However, they didn’t have to wait long as the sequel arrived with a catchy title, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” The long-awaited sequel’s hype started thanks to fans creating memes around the A-list star-studded cast, including Kate Hudson, Edward Norton, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Janelle Monáe, and, of course, Daniel Craig as the “world’s best detective,” Benoit Blanc. In addition to that cast, there are plenty of one-scene cameos from other stars who are still working today and others who have recently passed away. Like the first one, the cast is excellent and knows how to play off each other—their remarks and reactions have a certain playfulness thanks to their chemistry.
Nevertheless, something is quite off in this “Knives Out” follow-up; it often feels as if it is forced to recapture the magic of the first installment. “Glass Onion” goes bigger and glossier, adding more twists and witty remarks than the eye could see. Unfortunately, it doesn’t amount to a better project due to its senseless unraveling of the mystery’s procedure. It’s a project that begins with a fiery hot hand but ends with a cold climax you wish was constructed differently.
‘Knives Out’ Moves to Greece this Time
This time, the mystery switches locations; detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is traveling to Greece during the middle of the pandemic to peel back the layers of a murder that happened on a billionaire’s lavish island home, the so-called (and titular) Glass Onion, hosted by Miles Bron (Edward Norton). He is an Elon Musk-esque caricature that likes to invent stuff without taking science and the environment into account. Sculptured and crafted to feel as if you are entering inside the structure of a magnum opus, the Glass Onion has many tricks and treats up its sleeve. These include hundreds of pricey artifacts (including the Mona Lisa painting), unlimited drinks, hourly gongs, bracelets that determine your room in response to your astral sign, and dozens of other secrets.
The most significant secrets of them all lay within the eclectic and oddball guests (or how Miles Bron calls them, his “disruptors”). They are all hiding something from their host. There’s fashion designer and frizzy firecracker Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson, who’s my favorite in the film because her performance resembles her work in “Almost Famous”) and her assistant, Peg (Jessica Henwick). Then we have wild gun-holding influencer Duke Cody (Dave Bautista) and his girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline, surprisingly being the second best in show), followed by politician Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn), and scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr.).
In a Rush to Introduce its Characters
And there’s one more guest that nobody expected to come, Cassandra Bland (Janelle Monáe)—an immediate outcast within the group. Something happened between them that’s making this encounter quite an awkward one. Revealing more of what’s beneath the layers of the titular “Glass Onion,” but their resolution isn’t all-enjoyable. In comparison to the original, this lacks the magnetism of its screenplay but contains the lack of efficacy in the key of its climax.
One of the film’s first mistakes is introducing each and every one of the characters through a supposedly humorous montage. Why is it a mistake? Because it treats it as if we already know these people, unlike “Knives Out,” which took its time to reveal more and more secrets each family member keeps from one another. These first few minutes are dull; vapid dialogue is intertwined with puzzle-box-like editing that is considered to showcase Rian Johnson’s upper echelon directorial-wise. Yet, in the end, it doesn’t; flash doesn’t meet an inch of substance. It is only for the cinematic appeal. This introduction mechanism doesn’t feed any information about who these characters are nor deliver a taste for grander things to come in terms of its mystery. For every funny line, there are eleven unfunny ones. The cast makes the best of it, but this time, the characters are basic over-the-top stereotypes that we have seen in many films that tackle the rich and their “high standards.”
Regrettably, ‘Glass Onion’ is Mostly One-Note
The script’s reliance on modernized jokes and cameo-filled references is frustrating and doesn’t work. It mentions multiple celebrities (some involving foods or appliances “made” by stars, aka Jared Leto’s kombucha). Each time it happens, the less it works. In addition to these, other quips made me scratch my head due to their dull and repetitive nature. For the most part (disappointingly), the “Knives Out” follow-up is mostly one-note and stereotypical. While it tries to go outside the box of murder-mystery conventions—dividing its time into self-awareness and trying to up the ante compared to “Knives Out”—“Glass Onion” never gels in both significant genres (comedy and mystery). The enigma is bland, and the humor blander. Disappointedly, it feels like it takes some ideas from Twitter threads instead of being inventive or innovative.
The cast strives—specifically the two actresses who do similar performances, Kate Hudson and Madelyn Cline—but one doesn’t fully care for the rest of the picture. Rian Johnson knows how to do a whodunnit better than the likes of Kenneth Branagh (with his remakes of “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Death on the Nile”), but he missed the mark with “Glass Onion” in terms of the development of the mystery—the unraveling of secrets, lies, mischievous activities, and plot-twists. Let’s hope the third installment finds its footing via refinement in comedic quips and alluring mysteries. When your two key narrative facets fail, there’s nothing else one can do to keep the audience engaged.
“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” played in theaters in November, but is now only available at its streaming release on Netflix, December 23rd.
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