Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

Three years ago, most audiences were delighted by the breezy ensemble mystery comedy Knives Out directed by Rian Johnson and starring an impressive cast lead by Daniel Craig playing the brilliant detective Benoit Blanc.  The film was a surprise box office hit when it came out so to no one's surprise, a sequel was planned and that sequel has also been directed by Johnson bringing back Craig's Blanc as our central protagonist.  But this time, he has been invited to a pre-planned murder mystery set on the island of an eccentric billionaire played by Edward Norton....or WAS it pre-planned?  What results is a dizzying comic mystery featuring a whole new cast of quirky characters including Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr, and Jessica Henwick. 

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY - 2022

Directed by Rian Johnson

Starring Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Dave Bautista, Kate Hudson, Madelyn Cline, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, and Kathryn Hahn

Genre: Murder Mystery Comedy (Audio clip)

I quite enjoyed Knives Out but I have to say that it never quite achieved the balls-out Clue-on-a-big-budget insanity of THIS sorta sequel. :) This second mystery just has more, more, MORE.....including more Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig reprising his absurd Southern accent), more laughs, more on-the-nose social commentary, more absurd characters, more convoluted plot machinations, more extreme production design, a more absurdly stacked cast, and.....more fun all-around! 

As a pseudo-sequel to a sorta comedy, it really shouldn't work NEARLY as well as it does....history is littered with more expensive retreads of clever comedy hits like Miss Congeniality 2 or Ghostbusters 2 or Another Stakeout. And yet it does because writer/director Rian Johnson doesn't actually try to duplicate the first film - this IS an ensemble murder mystery at its core like the first film with Blanc at its center but that's honestly where the similarities end. For one, the set-up for this is much more mad-cap as there is very real pretense of this being an unsolvable mystery - the plotting is still relatively tight even if it gets a bit bogged down with flashbacks during the mid-section. 

Even though that central mystery pretty much works as a basis for the narrative, this movie isn't really about solving that mystery....it's ALL about this wacky group of mostly privileged professional "disruptors" gathered up on one billionaire's island for a weekend and their various interactions. That tech billionaire is the Elon Musk-like Miles Bron who owns his own secluded island with an impressively gaudy yet technologically-advanced mansion at its center with an eye-catching glass-enclosed structure at its top which house his offices, a lounge, and an expensive collection of top-flight art inside it....THIS is of course the eponymous Glass Onion and this is also where much of the action for this story occurs.

Miles has invited over a select group of friends and business associates - the aforementioned crew "disruptors" - over for the weekend for an upscale murder mystery party PLUS Benoit for reasons not revealed off the bat. This motley crew includes Kathryn Hahn playing an image-obsessed governor, a loud online men's right YouTuber played by Dave Bautista, a brassy somewhat disgraced former model/pop star played by Kate Hudson (great to see her back!), a paranoid tech wiz who's Bron's right-hand man played by Leslie Odom Jr, and....most interestingly....an embittered former business partner played Janelle Monae. And gratefully, Craig is having a ball as this circus' reluctant ringmaster. 

For me, the true standouts were Hudson who has several of the best lines, Norton doing what he does best....playing an rip-roaring dickhead whom you can't help but kinda like, and Monae who gets in on the fun while still having this story's trickiest role. Of course some one is murdered at the end of the opening act, chaos ensues, the mystery builds.....and I'll leave it at that. ;) 

Across the board, this is a handsome production with FANTASTIC costume design from Jenny Eagon returning from Knives Out....and pretty spectacular production design from Rick Heinrichs who has been doing this for 25+ years but this is only the 21st film he has worked on. And when you look at this guy's IMDB which includes standout work on The Big Lebowski, Sleepy Hollow (which he won an Oscar for), Captain America: The First Avenger, AND the recent jaw-dropping Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.....it becomes pretty clear that this guy chooses his projects carefully and when he does, the results are pretty unforgettable! Same here as there is SO much to look at in the background - furniture, gadgets, art - despite a limited number of locations and it never distracts from the characters on-screen regardless. 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

This one is fairly obvious when you think about it.  The song plays over the end credits as we see fun title cards for each of the stars and it happens to be a catchy little psychedelic rocker from one of the greatest bands EVER.  The song is of course “Glass Onion” and SHAME on me for calling myself a Beatles fan and NOT remembering that they actually included this song for their 1968 “White Album.”  Yup in case you weren’t aware, this self-titled album from the Fab Four was EPIC in length with 30 songs and this being among the shorter tracks at 02:18.  What’s kinda perfect about this song choice is that it’s 100% meta, mainly just referencing other Beatles songs which had recorded by this point….including Strawberry Fields and Fool on the Hill.  For a very meta movie, it’s the perfect irreverent note to end it on. (Audio clip)     

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

Yeah I’ve been a bit of a broken record on this but come on Netflix…..WHY did you insist on having this play in theaters for ONLY one week??  I get that you want to give your subscribers exclusive content but when it comes to certain types of movies, you’re not going to actually LOSE subscribers by making them wait a few months longer to see this via streaming.  Looking at the Top Ten Movies Chart on Netflix today, guess what I see? Seven of the Top Ten movies are NOT Netflix releases and each of them was released to theaters at least four months ago…..

And I say this having seen this with a packed audience over Thanksgiving weekend.  Seriously the audience I saw this with was just FUN, laughing and/or gasping in all the right spots....seemingly taken aback as I was as to how deliriously entertaining this film is from start to finish. :) This is a PRIME example of a movie which should be enjoyed with an audience….simply put, the waste here is that Netflix isn’t allowing movies like this to have full theatrical releases.

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

This might be an obvious choice but I have to say that the opening sequence of this movie just COMPLETELY disarmed me in a way which I wasn’t expecting.  The movie kicks off with all of the aforementioned individuals each receiving a special delivery from Norton’s Miles Bron….they each receive a pretty large puzzle box.  We jump from person to person as they scan the box and then start to fiddle with it – off the bat, there are buttons and knobs along with some occasional clues as they each start to tinker with it.  Part of the fun of this sequence is watching how differently each person approaches this box – some are being meticulous while other are just yelling for some one else to feed obvious clues.  But as we cut between each of them, the box starts to open up revealing more and more secret compartments and even little games or activities within those compartments.  

And eventually, each of them get the box to collapse at the corners revealing at its core a…..yup you guessed it…..a small glass onion which pops open in little pieces to reveal…..a small paper invitation from Miles inviting them to this mystery weekend at his island.  Each of them excitedly reads this invitation….except ONE who hasn’t yet opened her puzzle box….who would be Janelle Monae’s Helen.  We see her in an unfished basement (I think) alone with the box on a table, wearing safety goggles, and…..well let’s just say she has found THE most efficient way to get to the center of this box where she finds her invitation.  It’s really a funny, fast-paced sequence which not only adeptly introduces us to each of the new characters but it sets a playful tone for the movie which follows….and which really never lets up. 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film): 

Virtually every actor here is chewing the scenery a bit....but thanks to Johnson's deft screenplay, each character complements the others in a canny way to enhance the mystery. What potentially feels early on like a set-up for a ratcheted-up battle Royale of folks screaming over each other never materializes....it instead develops into a symphony of clever exchanges, some nicely done slapstick, and good observational humor.

But at the end of the day, this is really Rian Johnson's achievement and it's probably among his best....right up there with Looper, VERY different movie mind you. It's funny that he got SO much negative attention for directing 'The Last Jedi which seemed designed to piss off audiences....and now he has crafted one of THE best audience experiences I can recall in recent years.  For writing and directing the rare comedy sequel which IMPROVES on its predecessor, Rian Johnson is the MVP. 

Final Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Glass Onion is just a dizzying entertainment machine which never slows down - it SHOULD be seen in theaters but hop on wherever you can!

Streaming at Netflix

And that ends another ENIGMATIC review!