How do you write a review of a whodunit without spoiling it? Knives Out is loaded with details in every single scene and they all matter to the story and characters at hand. Same goes for Glass Onion so I’ll keep it vague. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is back thanks to Netflix shelling out $469 million exclusively for Knives Out sequels. Was it a smart move to stick this movie in 600 theaters for only one week? I think Blanc himself would have something to say about that, especially after his run-in with the excesses and numbskullery of wealth featured in his latest mystery. Billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) sends a convoluted invitation to a group of rich friends for an annual gathering. The group of guests call themselves The Disruptors, a “friend” group made up of various hangers-on to the Bron fortune. Of course, there are also surprise guests but who are they? I’ll leave that one a mystery.

If you haven’t seen Knives Out, you won’t be missing out on anything in terms of continuity (unless there’s a detail here I missed). The factor connecting the two is world famous detective Benoit Blanc. Daniel Craig is such a wonderful sight on any-sized screen, he truly is a magnetic performer and his love for Blanc’s southern drawl is infectious. Glass Onion features a star-studded cast of people who (I, Chris Miele, find) are a lot of fun to watch anytime they show up in a movie. Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn… Get these folks together and I’m smiling. Each character feels distinct. The first film had an issue of packing real-world politics in select scenes whereas Glass Onion does a better job spreading the annoyances of modern day tech wealth throughout the film in not-so-subtle but effective ways. When the characters of the first film sat down to talk about Trump, I’m taken out of the movie. It’s okay to kill subtlety in a talky, energetic whodunit but do we need an IRL Twitter argument? While Glass Onion doubles down on the Twitter-Thread Politics of the first film, it finds more entertaining ways to convey politics without halting the film to tear us out of its world.

Glass Onion is a pure whodunit crowd-pleaser with a giant budget to flex. When was the last time we heard multiple Beatles songs in a comedy movie? A Hard Day’s Night? There’s a slew of celebrity cameos that may just be show-off for the budget and distracting to the viewer but I found them to be a part of the film’s architecture (though, not necessarily an essential one). There’s already an excessive amount of stars, what’s not a few more? The sets are big and detailed, adding to the tackiness of the billionaire host and the guests involved who see it as glamorous. Celebrity cameos are tacky and they fit well in Rian Johnson’s menagerie of excess. If we got a Benoit Blanc mystery movie every 2-3 years, we would be better for it. They are a lot of fun and, though the Social Media politics can be a bit weary, Glass Onion features little bits spoofing both film’s of-the-moment relevance (ex. Blanc making a 2010: The Year We Make Contact reference). Glass Onion is a delightful mystery worth taking a stab at. 

RATING: 8 out of 10