*Of course no twists spoiled here…

IMDB Synopsis

Tech billionaire Miles Bron invites his friends for a getaway on his private Greek island. When someone turns up dead, Detective Benoit Blanc is put on the case.

“You would lie for a lie, but you won’t lie for the truth.”

I remember seeing the original KNIVES OUT movie and walking out being like wow, why do we not get great murder mysteries anymore? That movie turned out to be a huge hit and Netflix decided to drop a nice big bag off ($469 million to be exact) at Rian Johnson’s home to make more of these stories. So we finally get the sequel GLASS ONION, which has none of the characters from the first movie, except of course the world famous Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). For our new cast we get another eclectic group of characters with Claire DeBella  (Kathryn Hahn), Helen Brand (Janelle Monáe), Miles Bron (Edward Norton), Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr.), Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson), Duke Cody (Dave Bautista), and Peg (Jessica Henwick). All of them have moments in the movie where they could be the killer or be the one killed so it is very exciting seeing them work.

Miles Bron invites his friends to his private island, which is an incredible setting, for their annual Murder Mystery weekend. Curiously Blanc is invited as well, and as shenanigans start to ensue you quickly learn about all the different threads of this story. Everyone has a part to play and everyone is a suspect. It is hard to even write about the story because I do not want to give away any of the fun surprises. However, just know there are many twists and turns the plot takes and you never really know where the story is going to go until the credits roll.

On the technical side, like most great directors Rian Johnson has made a nice crew for himself on his sets. His DP is Steve Yedlin who has worked with him forever but is also getting a massive Marvel break with the new ANT MAN movie. We also have Rian’s cousin Nathan Johnson who composed the fun score, who recently also did NIGHTMARE ALLEY for Guillermo Del Toro. Also his editor Bob Ducsay who has been with him since LOOPER, really gets to shine with these movies because of how much editing and facial expressions can play into the overall mystery.

Stock Watch

Stock Neutral – Daniel Craig

Its clear he has so much fun making these movies. He is done with Bond and can do literally whatever he wants now, so to see him come back to this every couple years will be very fun.

Stock Neutral – Edward Norton

He has been a star for a very long time, but it was really fun to see him in a different role here. He was cocky and confident, yet mysterious at the same time. I loved him in this role.

Stock Up – Janelle Monáe

She can be argued as being the star of the movie and she does does an incredible job standing out amongst all these stars. She has an incredibly tough role, that only gets harder as the movie goes on, and I think when I rewatch this it will be very interesting to see her in each scene. She is a superstar in multiple mediums and can do whatever she wants.

Stock Up – Kathryn Hahn

After her Marvel stint she is now a complete household name, if she was not already, and is starting to take on much more interesting roles. She has a very outsized personality but she does reign it in a bit with this role. She plays a politician so it is fun to watch her opinions change depending on the situation just like the politicians in real life.

Stock Up – Leslie Odom Jr.

His fame shot up from his role in HAMILTON, but he is a great actor in all aspects. He has a very interesting part as a scientist in this story, and I am excited to see what kind of roles he wants to take moving forward.

Stock Down – Dave Bautista

I am just not a fan of his anymore. He seems to only really be able to play one type of role and it is fine for what it is, but I had no interest in his story anytime he was on screen.

*A couple other tidbits

• I truly do not know what to think of Kate Hudson as an actor anymore.
• Stephen Sondheim and Angela Lansbury on a zoom call, what the hell!
• Hugh Grant!
• Joseph Gordon Levitt does get his signature Rian Johnson appearance as a voice of a clock.

Considering the pressure Johnson had to follow up his massive hit with the original, Glass Onion is a smashing success. I have some problems with with how the story is unraveled in the back half, but the humor, the performances, and the razor sharp script really keep you engaged. This is a great entry to this growing franchise.

Juice Rating:

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