LONDON: Shortly after the release of “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” director Rian Johnson revealed in an interview that he had reluctantly agreed to add the title’s suffix. He would have preferred, it seems, for the movie to exist in its own right, rather than relying on its 2019 predecessor, the excellent “Knives Out,” which introduced Daniel Craig’s legendary detective Benoit Blanc.
It is understandable why Johnson would have wanted “Glass Onion” to be its own movie — Blanc aside, there is an entirely new cast and story. Though it is technically a sequel, there is no need to watch the first movie, and no backstory that will diminish audiences’ enjoyment of the storyline.
Blanc is invited to a Greek island to attend the murder mystery party of tech billionaire Miles Bron and his inner circle. There is an hilarious exchange in which Blanc solves the contrived murder mystery in a few seconds, before a real murder is committed, and the group of friends must face the fact that a killer is among their number.
The all-new cast is excellent. Janelle Monae is outstanding as Miles’ former partner, while Kate Hudson and Jessica Henwick are a riot as a clueless model and her beleaguered assistant.
But much like the first film, it is Craig’s Blanc who is the anchor of this whole picture — his hyper-intelligent detective sits at the heart of a story that twists and turns at the whim of Johnson’s directorial dexterity.
The carefully revealed mystery is drip-fed to audiences so that, just as you think you have cracked it, another element is thrown into the mix. It is an entertaining, brain-tickling exercise.
Sure, Edward Norton’s narcissistic Miles feels a little one-note, and we actually do not learn whole lot more about Blanc, which feels odd, if he is to be the sole carry over from one “Knives Out” film to the next, but this is still an expertly crafted whodunnit.
