Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Is Good?

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) is an entertaining whodunit crime drama movie. And, once again, the ace detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is invited to a rich person’s luxurious home island to solve a mysterious murder case.

We hope that you have seen the first and the original Knives Out (2019) movie by the same writer and director, Rian Johnson. This time, Rian takes us into the world of the (Tech) billionaire who lives on a privately owned island.

The Second Part of The ‘Knives Out’ Film Is Sharp But…

Spoiler Free Review | Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) Movie

The synopsis

This fresh adventure finds the intrepid detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) at a lavish private estate on a Greek island, but how and why he comes to be there is only the first of many puzzles. 

Benoit Blanc soon meets a distinctly disparate group of friends gathering at the invitation of billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) for their yearly reunion. Among those on the guest list are Miles' former business partner Andi Brand (Janelle Monáe), current Connecticut governor Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn), cutting-edge scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr.), fashion designer and former model Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson) and her conscientious assistant Peg (Jessica Henwick), and influencer Duke Cody (Dave Bautista) and his sidekick girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline). 

As in all the best murder mysteries, each character harbours their secrets, lies and motivations. 

When someone turns up dead, everyone is a suspect.

The world of rich and famous

The Glass Onion film takes a potshot at the imperfect lifestyle of rich people, who incidentally believe that they are the smartest people in the world. And they can get away with breaking almost all the rules of society. Interestingly, this movie fuses the absurd stories of rich people with the classic whodunit murder mystery. It is an apt commentary on the contemporary lifestyles of tech billionaires and other wealthy folks of the world. The shallowness as well as hollowness of their world can not be hidden by all the glitz and glamour that surrounds their affluent status. Even in their small, privileged world, there is too much pettiness and jealousy among the so-called friends.

The script is good

With this wonderful and wickedly delicious film, its writer and director, Rian Johnson, has taken quite a few good swings at the wealthy tech-entrepreneur. Rian also focuses his attention on the rich and famous (influencer) friends of the said billionaire. And he has managed to land a few solid blows to some of them, with their stereotypical portrayal. Like its title, Glass Onion, this is a layered story. The world-famous detective Benoit Blanc goes to Greece to peel back the layers (onions) of a mystery surrounding a tech billionaire and his eclectic bunch of friends.

So, after the murders have taken place in the film, the suave Detective Blanc must catch the killer and find the elusive connections. And once again, he must solve it smartly and intelligently.

The ensemble cast is wonderful too

Like the previous Knives Out film, Daniel Craig (Benoit Blanc) continues to charm us with a unique murder case-solving style. And of course, he is supported by the amazing ensemble cast – Edward Norton (Bron), Janelle Monáe (Andi Brand), Kathryn Hahn (Claire Debella), Leslie Odom Jr. (Lionel Toussaint), Kate Hudson (Birdie Jay), Jessica Henwick (Peg), Dave Bautista (Duke Cody) and Madelyn Cline (Whiskey). All of them have done a commendable job in this whodunit movie. Although we correctly guessed the identity of the killer, we still stayed back to check out the process adopted by the protagonist Benoit Blanc.

The conclusion

So, we could identify the identity of the killer, the person who (wrongly) believes he is the smartest one in the house. Still, we think, the Glass Onion film is a good entertainment, not to be missed by Detective Blanc fans. We were thoroughly regaled, and no doubt, it is an enjoyable cinema.

Rating of the Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) Film

Poster of the Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) Film

Key Details about the Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) Film

Trailer of the Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) Film

A brief note about the lengthy movie title

While talking about the lengthy movie title, “Glass Onion A Knives Out Mystery”, writer and director Rian Johnson disclosed in an interview that he was made to add “A Knives Out Mystery” to the film’s title for marketing purposes. And it left him frustrated, as he wanted every murder-mystery film in this series of movies to be self-contained, except for Daniel Craig’s appearance.

Honestly, I’m pissed off that we have A Knives Out Mystery in the title. You know? I want it to just be called Glass Onion.

Rian Jhonson | The Atlantic

In the film itself, the title cards say simply “Glass Onion”. He told the magazine, to quote him, “Honestly… you know? I want it to just be called ‘Glass Onion… I get it, and I want everyone who liked the first movie to know this is next in the series, but also, the whole appeal to me is it’s a new novel off the shelf every time.”

Rian Johnson created this movie and series, too:

Knives Out ~ Detective Benoit Blanc investigates the murder of a renowned crime novelist.

Poker Face ~ A mystery-of-the-week series follows Charlie Cale, who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying.

Focus: its movie title refers to The Beatles’ song

There is an interesting story behind the title of this movie - "Glass Onion" (2023), which refers to the famous The Beatles' song from The White Album. The song teases various myths about The Beatles band, sung by the band, specifically John Lennon, who wrote it too. Thus, this enigmatic song is apt as a mystery film's title. And it is interesting to note that its prequel movie - "Knives Out" (2019) was also titled after a song, which was the song by Radiohead from their album Amnesiac.

Anyway, check out this YouTube Video Clip - Daniel Craig Receives A Mysterious Box | Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Featured & Other Images: Glass Onion (A Knives Out Mystery) | Netflix.