The Halcyonite

By Liam

’24

(Image Source: IMDb)

Peeling back the layers of Netflix’s highly anticipated Knives Out sequel

2022 was a year with intriguing trends in film. Among these was the revival of the classic murder mystery genre, with films such as See How They Run and Bodies Bodies Bodies hitting theaters throughout the year. To conclude this year of espionage, director Rian Johnson presented us with Glass Onion, the second installment in the Knives Out franchise. Of course, as much as I tried to avoid it, I had extremely high expectations. Knives Out blew me away when I first saw it in 2019, so my excitement was unbelievable when the trailer for Glass Onion came out. 

Was I disappointed? No. But did it meet my expectations? Not quite, either.

The film, much like its predecessor, was a murder mystery designed to break the boundaries of the genre. It reintroduces us to Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig) in the middle of a pandemic where characters are invited to a tech billionaire’s private island for a game–to solve his murder. But then a real death happens.

Of course, the film is so much more than that. The range of incredible actors bring life to interesting and eccentric characters–Dave Bautista and Janelle Monaë particularly stand out in this field. Twists appear frequently and show to us that nothing is really quite what it seems. The audience is never sure what to expect. And above all, Johnson uses all of this to make commentary on class and billionaires in a blunt effect, similar to Knives Out’s approach on the subject.

However the film lives too much in the shadow of its predecessor to be an incredibly successful film. It is a much more relevant film for its time, but sticks much more to whodunnit tropes, and fails to break as much new ground as Knives Out did. While a film does not have to be better than the original to be good, it seems to have taken a blow from what we can call the “Netflix Method,” where films are designed to be pumped out at an unimaginable pace, and often unfortunately forgotten, despite being good films. 

But don’t let that stop you. The film is still one I massively enjoyed and should not be avoided by any means. It will be less remembered as a classic as Knives Out will be, but it is definitely a worthy installment in this growing franchise of whodunits. 

Final Rating: 7/10

UK Age Rating: 12A