What a romp this one was. Rian Johnson sure has found his niche, and something he most definitely enjoys. With Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, he doubles down on everything that made Knives Out such a joyous surprise while also pushing the form into stranger, louder, and more eccentric territory.
This was so fun to watch with an audience, especially with the faint foresight of what is to come. The laughter is contagious, the gasps are genuine, and the collective feeling of thinking you are ahead of the film only to realize you are delightfully behind it is intoxicating. Netflix gave this a theatrical run, and you can feel why. This movie demands a rewatch. It is built on layers, on details hiding in plain sight, on moments that feel like stylish flourishes until they reveal themselves as structural necessities. Unlike most of the platform catalog, this one actually benefits from being seen again.
Man oh man is this a beautiful movie. Steve Yedlin is such a talented and deeply thoughtful cinematographer. If you follow his conversations about color science and his attempts to replicate the texture and depth of film through digital capture, you see that obsession play out on screen. There are shots that seem deceptively simple, but the way light wraps around Daniel Craig gives him the glow of an old school movie star. He looks sculpted by cinema itself. The Academy may overlook this work because it is not flashy in the way a grand landscape epic might be, but it is gorgeous in ways that reward attention. The blackout sequence in particular is a stroke of genius, both technically and narratively. Johnson and Yedlin move the camera with purpose, using motion to underline a line reading or to set up a punchline. There are loving nods to the great tradition of drawing room mysteries, including the unmistakable presence of Hercule Poirot in spirit if not in name.
And then there is the editing. Bob Ducsay delivers work here that feels invisible until you realize the entire film lives or dies on his timing. The structure is layered and playful, hinting early that we are not seeing the full picture. Without precise cutting, this puzzle would collapse under its own cleverness. Instead, it snaps into place with rhythm and wit. Little cuts generate tension, then relief, then revelation. It is stylish when it needs to be and restrained when the story demands clarity.
The score by Nathan Johnson is another triumph. The Glass Onion theme is lush and classic, evoking a golden age sense of intrigue while still feeling modern. It crystallizes Johnson’s love for the genre and his desire to revive that old school curiosity in a contemporary setting. The first film rekindled my affection for mystery novels. This one sends me right back to the bookshelf.
Narratively, it was always going to be nearly impossible to top the original. How do you create a villain as delicious as Ransom? Yet while this sequel may not eclipse its predecessor in every department, it does surpass it in ambition. The mystery itself is twisty and bold, less telegraphed and more willing to play with perspective. It relies heavily on misdirection without feeling unfair. Even when I did not get the gasp moment I personally crave at the end of a whodunnit, I admired the effort to avoid stale genre beats. Johnson is not content to repeat himself. He is trying to redefine what a modern mystery can look like.
The ensemble this time leans more into topical caricature than family archetype. There is a hint of heavy handed satire that occasionally brushes up against smugness, especially in its pandemic era framing. But once the pieces are on the board, the film truly takes off. It becomes grander, more eccentric, and more playful. Louder, flashier, and funnier than the first, even if not always as aesthetically restrained.
If there is one area where this installment clearly improves, it is in how much breathing room it gives Benoit Blanc. You can never have enough of him. Craig is very, very funny here. Every line delivery is tuned to perfection, every raised eyebrow a punchline. The fact that he so recently shed the skin of James Bond and has now stepped into the shoes of a new detective icon is remarkable. I will happily follow Blanc anywhere.
That said, this film ultimately belongs to Janelle Monáe. She is phenomenal, commanding the screen with nuance and power. Edward Norton is terrifyingly good as a billionaire entrepreneur whose hollow genius masks a startling incompetence. It is chilling to watch someone hold others captive to his whims while proving himself unfit to lead anything of consequence. The commentary is punchy and increasingly prescient, yet still wrapped in a package designed first and foremost to entertain.
Does it top the original. For me, not quite. But it is just as sharp and undeniably enjoyable. A clever modern mystery with many layers to peel back. Sleek production design, sharp editing, a rousing score, and a cast having the time of their lives. Johnson’s films may be idiosyncratic and occasionally inelegant, but that is part of their charm. This is a grand time at the movies, the kind that reminds you why you fell in love with the genre in the first place.
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