Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daniel Craig, Janelle Monae, Edward Norton
Dave Bautista, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr.
Year: 2022
It really just boils down to this; Knives Out was special, Glass Onion isn’t. Oh, and Janelle Monae is a terrible actor, while Ana de Armas is talented, so there’s that too. This Netflix blockbuster may be tickling audiences’ fancy, but it’s simply not nearly as good as its predecessor and not even as good as a couple dozen films from this season that most of America hasn’t watched. Rian Johnson grew his brand successfully, good for him, but this film isn’t as awesome as you’ve heard it is.
Benoit Blanc is back on the case, this time with a twist; the murder he is investigating is a fake one. A billionaire named Miles Bron has invited his closest friends, and Blanc for some reason, to his private island, both as part of a yearly ritual and to try out his own version of a whodunit, with himself as the victim. But all is not as it seems, when guests end up dead and Benoit has to solve the case of the real killer. Greed & stupidity slam heads until everyone is dizzy, and who knows what might happen next.
First off, I feel like I’ve been super negative lately, but I’m especially frustrated with Glass Onion because I wanted it to be excellent and assumed that it would be. It isn’t, it just isn’t, it has problems, and that’s a big disappointment. It starts OK; the set up, the island, the party, the guests, all with reasons to love & hate Miles Brown, with Benoit Blanc as a special guest. All that was fun, the characters are great, but after a murder & a change in mood, the movie takes a big step back. About halfway through, we head back in time to fill in the details that we don’t understand, and that’s where the wheels fall off. Janelle Monae takes over, much as Ana de Armas did, and she’s just not up to the ask; people, she’s not even an actress. She can’t carry the load, no way, and the story starts to crumble, all the way to an ending that’s just plain weird. I like this style, Rian knows how to entertain us, but we need a better right hand for Benoit next time, or the same screwup will occur.
My rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆