The mystery is solved. Highly anticipated Netflix movie Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story had an early screening during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, which means that the cat’s out of the bag and the first impressions are in. The movie is a sequel to 2019’s Knives Outwhich was a surprise hit murder mystery written and directed by Ryan Johnson. The movie was praised for subverting the common tropes of the genre, and grossed over $300 million against a $40 million budget. Netflix ordered two sequels for the adventures of detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), with Johnson attached to helm both.
Once again, the story centers around an intriguing mystery that features a star-studded cast of many suspects and victims. This time around, Craig is accompanied by Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, Ethan Hawkeand Dave Bautista.
Even though details of the sequel are being kept under wraps by Netflix, the promotional campaign is doing a good job of making us curious to check it out, first with a teaser trailer that suggests this adventure will be bigger in scale, and puzzles being introduces not only to the story, but for fans to figure out as well and get clues about the plot while we wait for the movie’s worldwide premiere in December.
going into Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the question in everyone’s minds was the same: After crafting such an intriguing, fun, even-paced, and surprising comedy with mind-blowing twists, would director and screenwriter Johnson be able to outdo himself once again? Critics seem to agree that the answer is a loud and clear ‘yes!’.
Collider’s own Ross Bonaime kicked off the round of early reactions by stating that the new Rian Johnson movie outdoes the original in every way, and it’s “bigger, crazier,” and “even twistier” – which is saying something, considering that Knives Out took everyone by surprise by having a huge twist in the very first act. With Collider’s Steve Weintraub similarly praising the film as a big hit for Netflix.
Other critics joined the chorus of praise by writing some incredibly enthusiastic tweets. From “Dancing” from Dancin’ on Films stated the movie is “superbly crafted” and said that it’s probably more fun than “anything else you’ll see this year.” Jonathan Fuji from The Movie Drunk underscored the important fact that every question “got answered as it unfolded”, and called Johnson a master of whodunits who has the genre “down to a science.” David Cuevas from Filmhounds Magazine didn’t hold back and called the movie “a modern mystery classic.”
With the difficult job of reprising his acclaimed performance while also making the role of detective Benoit Blanc feel fresh, Daniel Craig was also praised by critics. Amanda Guraggi from Candid Cinema wrote that the British actor “shines again” and that his performance is “funnier than before.”
There was also a lot of praise for the sprawling cast of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Movie Scene Canada prepares us to the fact that Monáe and Hudson “steal demands the entire film”, and a third movie already, while Clayton Davis from variety wrote that Monáe and Norton’s performances “showcase Rian Johnson’s knack for telling killer stories.”
Netflix premieres Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery on December 23. You can watch the trailer below: