Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

I thoroughly enjoyed the first Knives Out because of the well-written story, great atmosphere, and Ana de Armas. This time, however, I was mainly faced with excessive running time, long, unnecessary explanations, and left-wing propaganda (and I'm not exactly wealthy capitalist myself). Plus, the finale played into the hands of all those crazy activists smearing mashed potatoes on works of art in galleries. This activity will soon solve all our planet's environmental problems. The main problem with the film was that it contained occasional moments that amused me, but desperately few for a movie with a running time longer than two hours. I'm not sure if Daniel Craig and Edward Norton portrayed characters influenced by COVID so well or if they were just tired. Most of the characters (if not all) lacked depth; the plot was sometimes boring and occasionally even irritating, so I'm obviously not impressed. / Lesson learned: An idiot in charge is not an unusual phenomenon. 3*-. (17/01/2023)

Satisfaction. It’s not a gem of whodunits and it doesn’t give the viewers a literal conclusion like the first Knives Out. The problem is the messy ending, when things get quite anarchic. On the other hand, I've rarely been so immersed in a film this year that I've tried to get to the bottom of it – which I didn't, thumbs up for some of the twists and turns. In short, Glass Onion works as a completely immersive whodunit and will keep you entertained. And thumbs up also for the very imaginative and substantial cameo roles, two of which sound very, very rare in the current context. (30/12/2022)

Benoit Blanc is back, and with him the island's rich man, a bunch of suspects and one dead body! And it's as brisk, intelligent and gripping as the first film. Different case, but the same approach, the humour spot-on, the characters are entertaining, the visuals are colourful and the motif is clever again. Anyone who liked the first one should definitely not miss this one. (26/12/2022)

When it comes to Agatha Christie, what kind of whodunit is it when the revelation of the perpetrators is a yawn for the detective (and even twice)? An onion that won’t make you cry with laughter and only released some juice after a shot through glass. The satirical backdrop of the golden nipple and the loss of mammal loyalty after its emptying is not particularly groundbreaking, and even though Rian Johnson built the best moments on small details, they didn’t create a functioning whole. Benoit Blanc seemed more balanced compared to the first film. Perhaps it was due to the Greek climate and his marriage to Hugh Grant. By the way, there were about two times when the cut came on a close-up of Craig, and the next began with notable music and a captivating shot of a floating boat in exotic settings. It was hard not to remember it, but what can you do now...? (25/01/2023)

I was surprised that Rian Johnson sent the sequel to one of the most entertaining detective films in recent years straight to Netflix. But I get it — when it comes to choosing between theaters and VOD services, money talks. That said, this movie doesn't disgrace Netflix at all. Finally! While it didn’t captivate me as much as the first one, which was surprisingly brilliant in its detective quality, this sequel still delivers. By now, viewers have certain expectations and know that Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc is something to look forward to, and he doesn’t disappoint. The downside is the overly complex plot, its length, and some of the characters. However, these are minor issues compared to the fact that I had a great time watching it. For a five-star rating, it needed a bit more of that unexpected twist — something the first movie had. (29/12/2022)