Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery - 2022 film review

I enjoyed Knives Out, a nice escapist whodunit. In commenting on my blog post about the film, the eminent critic Michael Dirda made some accurate criticisms of the plot, but like me he didn't let them spoil his pleasure too much. The success of the film meant that a sequel was inevitable and this takes the form of Glass Onion, in which Daniel Craig reprises his role as Benoit Blanc, the greatest detective in the world.

I feel that Glass Onion differs from Knives Out in two key respects. First, the set-up is even better. I was definitely gripped. Second, the film loses its way badly - in my opinion - in the latter stages. The mystery was easy to solve and the resolution excessively drawn out. 

Miles Bron, a tech billionaire, invites five associates to a murder game party on his private Greek island. Their challenge is to solve his murder. Blanc also turns up, but Bron denies having invited him. Another guest is Cassandra, whom Bron removed from the business and subsequently defeated in litigation. It's clear from the outset that he cheated her and it also emerges that the other guests have motives to commit murder. However, when someone dies, surprise, surprise (or perhaps not!) - the victim isn't Miles. And then someone else is shot...

So far, so good. Edward Norton, as Bron, is convincingly odious. But we then get a very extended flashback which gives a very different perspective on the events as they have been presented to us so far. To a degree, this is quite clever, but it also tests credulity to the limits and beyond. Given that, at this point, most mystery fans will have figured out what is really going on (the central trick can be found in a couple of Agatha Christie novels), I began to lose interest. A pity, but perhaps writer and director Rian Johnson simply got carried away.