22 Nov Glass Onion Review

GLASS ONION

dir. Rian Johnson, starring Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, et al.

Glass Onion, the sequel to the 2019 smash hit murder mystery Knives Out, sees the return of Benoit Blanc as he’s invited to a private Greek island to participate in a murder mystery game, courtesy of billionaire Miles Bron. When one of the guests ends up actually dead, Blanc is on the case to figure out who killed them and why.

With writer/director Rian Johnson ready to return with a fresh injection into the veins of fans of the whodunit genre, anticipation was high for Glass Onion. Knives Out was excellent on almost every level, delivering a story that was funny, engaging, and full of surprises. This sadly isn’t quite the case with Glass Onion. While the cast assembled for the film rivals that of Knives Out, the movie is filled with thin, one note characters that come across as mere set dressing at times. Contrasted to the shallowness of the Thrombeys of Knives Out, who were delightfully despicable people the audience loved to hate, Glass Onion offers little in the way of giving viewers a reason to care, let alone root for or against them. In turn, it’s this lack of development that leads to a low stakes affair that, while entertaining at times, fails to really draw the audience into the world.

The major issue with Glass Onion is in its pacing; too much time is spent in the first act attempting to set up multiple storylines that tie back to Miles Bron. The most important element of any murder mystery is the presence of a dead body; Knives Out excels at this because hardly five minutes passes before the maid stumbles upon the dead body of Harlan Thrombey. It’s what kicks off the events of the movie, it’s what propels the entirety of the story. In Glass Onion, viewers are subjected to an entire act of setup and are well into the second act, some 40ish minutes, before the murder happens. While the story thankfully kicks into a bit of a higher gear after that, the sluggish beginning may leave audiences lukewarm.

Glass Onion isn’t without its merits. Johnson still manages to throw in a few surprise twists and reveals as the narrative rambles along and his dialogue is almost as strong as it is in Knives Out. The other classic element of the whodunit, the big third act speech that reveals everything, is just as funny as the first, if not a bit more unconventional. With a final sequence that’s surprisingly cathartic, as well as incredibly rueful, Glass Onion works in almost as many ways as it fails.

Regardless of the movie’s story and its execution, the acting is one of the highlights of Glass Onion. Once again starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, the southern fried detective, the film takes the beloved character and injects a bit of personal life into him. We see Blanc’s home, how he spends his time when he’s not on a case, and some of the people he chooses to spend his time with. Craig returns to the role with an ease and comfort; it’s clear that these are movies he enjoys working on and that joy emanates through the character. At times witty, at times cheeky, but still deadly serious when the time calls for it, Craig’s Blanc is just as good as he was in the first film.

Also starring Edward Norton as Miles Bron, the tech billionaire who hosts the soon-to-be-fatal party, Norton reminds audiences why he’s so good at the roles he chooses to play. If Benoit Blanc is the center of the film, Norton’s Miles is the story’s off center. He’s the tie that binds the ensemble together, both metaphorically and literally as it’s he who brings everyone to his remote island for a weekend of partying and mystery solving. Norton is still great at these types of roles, having played them often, and Glass Onion is no exception, he’s perfectly cast in the part.

Along for the ride is Janelle Monáe, the best thing the audience has to a tether in this movie. Monáe dazzles on the screen as Cassandra Brand, a force for Benoit Blanc to contend with. Monáe is charming as ever, creating a character that is likeable enough to root for throughout the course of the story’s events.

As for the rest of the ensemble, they play their parts well. Unfortunately, thanks to the overall shallowness of development, the actors and actresses work well with what they have but are given little time to really let their talents shine. Kate Hudson stands out of the pack as a former supermodel, tiptoeing to the line of hamming it up without crossing over into farce.

Written, directed, and produced by Rian Johnson, Glass Onion sees the veteran filmmaker return his sandbox for the followup to his rollicking whodunit. As a feature director, Johnson has only missed once to date (2008’s The Brothers Bloom). Johnson’s eye for detail that forces the audience to pay attention to what’s going in an all aspects of the frame have resulted in some of the most visually interesting films in the last decade. It’s his talent as a director that saves Glass Onion from being a disaster; even when the story is lagging, Johnson’s ability to create interesting visuals (shot by Steve Yedlin, returning from the first movie) and movement within the frame at least give the moviegoer something to track and appreciate while waiting for something to happen. As a writer, however, Glass Onion is one of his worst to date. With tepid, uninteresting characters filling a nonsense narrative, it’s difficult at times to really care what’s happening at times during the film. Thankfully, Netflix provided Johnson with a decent budget that leads to lavish costuming and impeccable set design; one of the most interesting things about Glass Onion is Miles Bron’s expansive seaside estate and all the little things Johnson and his team adorn it with.

Overall, Glass Onion, while enjoyable in spurts and fits, doesn’t hold a candle to its original. Compared to Knives Out, Glass Onion feels like a pale imitation, a copy of a copy, a product a filmmaker with lesser talent than Rian Johnson traced over like their hand to make a Thanksgiving turkey outline. The charm of Benoit Blanc still exists; Craig’s performance is sharp as ever, but the ensemble cast, while talented themselves, lack any sort of depth or possess any characteristics that will make the audience fear for their safety. Still beautifully shot and dexterously directed by Rian Johnson, the technical makeup of the film is superb, yet the story itself lacks the same punch or flare that its predecessor contained. Regardless, as it hits theaters this Thanksgiving week and Netflix two days before Christmas, the movie is still decent enough to be watched with the family during holiday gatherings. Glass Onion will have a limited run in theaters starting November 23rd and be released on Netflix December 23rd.

Review by Darryl Mansel