CNN
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Taking on the challenge of compliance successful predecessorGlass Bow: The Mystery of Knives Out maintains the razor-sharp formula, with production that feels even more noticeably like an Agatha Christie homage, before launching into an extremely clever series of twists. Writer/director Rian Johnson once again assembles a solid cast Daniel Craigbut it's his use of language – where not a word is wasted – that finally gives the sequel its edge.
Netflix has prudently stepped up to acquire the Knives Out franchise and, in a departure from its usual ego-bruising approach to theatrical release, will actually give the film a wide release for just one week before hitting the streaming service in late December. Most people will probably still wait to eat it in the comfort of their own home, but for those who do take the plunge, it will certainly please an appreciative audience.
After the family dynamic in Knives Out that gave everyone a reason to kill the patriarch, Johnson tries his hand at a different setting: eccentric billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) invites his old gang of pals to a secret hideout (in Covid times, no less) on his secluded Greek island, where they'll be tasked with solving his “murder.”
However, the game takes an unexpected turn, starting with the introduction of master detective Craig Benoit Blanc, who remains brilliant and strange in almost equal parts.
As for the eclectic list of guests/potential killers (and/or victims), it includes a fashion designer and social media enthusiast (Kate Hudson) and her partner (Jessica Henwick), a fitness influencer (Dave Bautista) and his girlfriend/assistant (Madeline Cline), a scientist (Leslie Odom Jr.), a politician (Catherine Khan) and many others. interestingly, Miles' (Janelle Monáe) former business partner.
Although the latest film clearly lacks the sense of discovery that the original had – and even turned into Chris Evans sweater A must-have (Chris Evans aside) Johnson is smart enough to realize that while this is a reboot rather than a reimagining, a change of venues can still update the formula.
What's more, Craig is clearly delighted with this new signature role, trading in his tuxedos and physique for a more cerebral form of crime-fighting, with a Hercule Poirot-like gift for eavesdropping and Foghorn Leghorn's Southern accent.
In one of these “Kneel before Zod!” flexes, Netflix supposedly paid a fortune to acquire these sequels, which, frankly, is the kind of deal that threatens to take a fun little movie and ruin it by creating unreasonable expectations.
Luckily, The Glass Onion finds new layers to explore, so the prospect of a new Knife Drawing Mystery every few years sounds like a perfectly reasonable idea, wherever and however one chooses to consume it.
Glass Bow: The Mystery of Knives Out will premiere in U.S. theaters on November 23 and on Netflix on December 23. Rated PG-13.
