REVIEW: Does The 'Knives Out' Sequel Live Up To The Hype?

PublishedDecember 27, 2022 10:59 AM EST|UpdatedDecember 27, 2022 10:59 AM EST

"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" dropped a few days ago on Netflix, and it's been dominating entertainment talk.

The film is a sequel to the famous 2019 hit mystery from Rian Johnson, but the only character that returns is Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc.

It's a completely fresh restart and the slate is clean. You don't even need to see "Knives Out" to have any idea what is happening in the second film in the Blanc saga.

I finally cruised through it Monday night, and I found it to be very interesting. The plot is pretty simple. A group of friends are brought to an island by their billionaire buddy, Blanc somehow gets dragged along, there's a death and we're off to the races to get to the truth.

Should movie fans watch "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery"?

Honestly, I have to admit that the latest "Knives Out" film isn't nearly as good as the original. The unraveling of the mystery at the end of the 2019 film was excellent. It was truly something most fans couldn't see coming.

I'm not sure you can say the same about "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery." Without spoiling anything, there are a couple big reveals that are definitely fun, but also make you sit back and ask, "Is this really happening?"

In the first "Knives Out" film, you don't really have to suspend reality at all. There's no gigantic leaps. The same can't be said for "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery." There are some gigantic leaps that require you to suspend reality, including the idea a private citizen would be allowed to have the Mona Lisa.

Furthermore, there are some themes in the film that appear to be meant to take shots at tech billionaires. Not only are these billionaires awful, but they're apparently also very dumb.

Anyone who has paid any attention to the discussions surrounding Elon Musk knows exactly what I'm talking about. We watch it play out in real life. Elon Musk is a titan of industry but people also love to claim he's a moron. The same idea plays out in "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery."

It was definitely a bit preachy and way too on-the-nose.

Should fans give it a watch?

Having said all of that, you should definitely still watch "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" if you want a relatively family-friendly mystery. Craig is, once again, awesome as Benoit Blanc. He gives fans a great performance, and overall, it's still a fun movie.

The sequel just falls short of what fans got in the original installment.

Also, if you didn't already know, there is a serious movement to make Madelyn Cline the next "it girl" in Hollywood, and it might be working. She went from "Outer Banks" to one of the biggest movies of the year.

There's a 100% chance her stock continues to rise.

Overall, it's a solid 6.7/10, and if it was a standalone film, "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" would rate even higher. The problem is the original was simply much better. Still, if you're a fan of cinema, it's worth watching at least once.