Review | Netflix movie review – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery sees Daniel Craig return as gentleman detective Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson’s hugely entertaining whodunit sequel
- Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, starring James Bond actor Daniel Craig, is a delightful romp and the first sequel to Rian Johnson’s 2019 whodunit Knives Out
- A cast of names including Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista and Janelle Monáe join Craig in a story that boasts twists, red herrings, flashbacks and murder suspects
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4.5/5 stars
Now the first of those sequels, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, is upon us.
Set during the pandemic, Blanc is feeling low without a case to crack. But his blues are soon banished when he receives an invitation to a private Greek island owned by tech titan Miles Bron (Edward Norton), the centrepiece of which is a huge ovular building: the Glass Onion.
On the guest list are the billionaire’s close friends or “disrupters”: fashion model Birdie (Kate Hudson), scientist Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr), YouTuber Duke (Dave Bautista) and politician Claire (Kathryn Hahn). More surprising is the arrival of Andi (Janelle Monáe), Bron’s ex-partner.
Bron has promised a weekend of sun, swimming – and solving of the elaborate parlour game that he promises will be “next level” and involves “my own murder”. But why has Blanc, the world’s most famous detective, been invited when he has no connection to anyone?
That is merely the first layer of Johnson’s proverbial onion to be peeled back in a story that boasts twists, red herrings, flashbacks and more suspects than your average game of Cluedo.
Knives Out put the fun back into film whodunits, and Glass Onion ramps that up. Deliciously scripted by Johnson, it is a spry comic look at how the other half live.
Bron, an Elon Musk-like genius type who only uses fax machines, is the sort that has kombucha – fermented tea – sent by Jared Leto and stacked in a miniature Porsche by his pool.
He has borrowed the Mona Lisa from the French government, who “needed the money” during the pandemic and he dreams of creating something just as memorable as Da Vinci’s masterwork.
All these guests have vested interests in Bron and may have reasons to kill him. But whichever way you think Glass Onion is going to go, it is likely Johnson will remain one step ahead of you.
The actors are all totally off the leash too – from Hudson’s dippy Kate Moss-alike to Bautista’s muscled-up, tattoo-clad influencer. Best of all, Monáe gets the role she has been waiting for, in a film that gives her so much to do. This is tremendous entertainment.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will start streaming on Netflix on December 23.
