Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery - A Movie Review

The culprit of the murder is standing in this room.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery aired on Netflix in 2022. A group of friends reunites at an elegant mansion in Greece. Relaxation and entertainment come to a halt when a member of the party is murdered.

Films are not meant to be watched once. Glass Onion is one of those films. As a matter of fact, you can never watch any film in the mystery genre once. Defining what a mystery film is, I watched Glass Onion with a close eye so I wouldn’t miss any details. I was still surprised.

A terrific cast was selected for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc. He does not disappoint. Although his Southern accent still gets on my nerves a bit. Craig dictates Blanc’s revelation monologue with the utmost skill. I want to see Craig more in this genre.

Janelle Monae is absolutely phenomenal in Glass Onion. I was floored by how she studied her role. She has really come into her own as an actress. Her performance should have been recognized more at this year's awards.

Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahl, Leslie Oden Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, and Noah Segan made a fantastic ensemble. These actors have been seen in a plethora of genres. They all worked very well together.

Bautista was a standout in the cast. As noted by his work in the Marvel series, he is a great comic actor. I’ve noticed that he has come into his own more as an actor. The same goes for Hudson. She needs more work in comedy.

Fun cameos are incorporated into the film, plus two celebrities who passed away before the release of the film.

I will tell you now, pay very close attention to the plotline. I was debating if too much exposition was relayed in the middle, but no, Rian Johnson proves how great of a director he is. Glass Onion is an intriguing story presented with brilliant direction. That’s not to say that Johnson got ahead of himself based on the success of the first film.

The film has a slow start. Each character is introduced which takes time. It is tedious in its nature gaining ground by the middle. The middle half is where I sat forward intrigued by what was going to happen next.

Glass Onion’s biggest flaw is explaining its twist. We’re taken out of the film’s immediately following an epic moment with all this meaningless talk. See and don’t tell! That’s what disappointed me. I wanted to be surprised but the more exposition that was uncovered took me out of the film. The reveal is too convenient which is not how the film should be.

Glass Onion is the first film to do something. It’s the first film to acknowledge the COVID-19 pandemic. Incorporating the pandemic into the story, that angle is soon forgotten. Writers should have incorporated it into the latter half of the film again.

Take in the grand setting because it does not resemble the same mansion by the end of the film. With swimming pools, a comfortable sitting room, and elegant glass sculptures decorated about, filmmakers outdid themselves with the design. I would love to spend a vacation here, except not when there is a murder mystery.

I enjoyed Glass Onion more than the first film. If you’re a mystery buff, take a look at Glass Onion on Netflix, especially during awards season. The story grabs your attention as soon as it starts.