Rian Johnson’s second Knives Out installment lives up to the original

Second installment of Netflix’s Knives Out series “Knives Out: Glass Onion” that premiered Dec. 23, 2022, is a film for the history books.

Promotional+photo+for+Netflix+film+Knives+Out%3A+Glass+Onion%2C+premiered+Dec.+23%2C+2022.

Promotional photo for Netflix film Knives Out: Glass Onion, premiered Dec. 23, 2022.

KORTNEY SNEAD, SNN Staff Writer

Glass Onion takes place in 2020, seven wealthy friends receive a mysterious box after being stuck at home due to COVID. Turns out their wealthiest friend, Miles Bron, science extraordinaire has invited them to his private island in Greece to play a murder mystery game to find out which one of them killed him. Coincidentally, world-famous detective Benoit Blanc shows up on the island too and what once was a fun game between friends turns into a scary reality.

I went into Glass Onion: Knives Out with high expectations seeing as the first Knives Out was so successful and one of my favorite movies of all time, and I must say director Rian Johnson did not disappoint. One of my favorite things about Johnson’s films is how he uses one or two details in the plot to become the biggest point of the movie that ties everything together. In the first Knives Out, it was knives, and, in this movie, it is the Glass Onion and the Mona Lisa.

The second element I must admire is the cast. The cast is filled with many familiar faces including Daniel Craig, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, and Edward Norton. Each character is so interesting and is not sniped in this film. The performances from the cast were incredible from Kate Hudson playing the token cancelled celebrity who never learns from her mistakes to Dave Bautista playing a men’s right youtuber, but Janelle Monae and Daniel Craig were definitely the stars of the movie for me.

The pacing throughout the film was splendid, and I love how the film is split into two parts: going through the film to the mystery and going back to unveil it. I appreciate how it wasn’t a carbon copy of the first Johnson Who Dun It installment. The aesthetics between the first and the second movie are drastically changed but you learn to appreciate the difference through the lives of the characters.

I do wish this movie could’ve been in theaters longer than a week and then move to Netflix because it is so much better as a screened film. There are some references to 2020 humor and lifestyle which can bring people out of the movie but as you digest the film and pick it apart, it all makes sense.

Rian Johnson is doing the best thing for the murder mystery genre since Clue, and I cannot wait for the third installment of this franchise.