Glass Onion: Um Mistério Knives Out

I really enjoyed Knives Out and was looking forward to the sequel with much anticipation ever since it was announced. I was, however, disappointed.

With Glass Onion, director and writer Rian Johnson shows once again that he can carefully craft an intriguing story with brilliant direction. But with a bigger budget comes many challenges and unfortunately the movie fails when it is trying too be too extravagant and a spectacle for the viewers.

The core story is very interesting and after a dull start, the middle of the film really hits it's stride with Johnson moving his playing pieces about with ease and wonderment. That was when i most enjoyed the movie.

But the ending was ultimately disappointing. Childish humour and some sequences that were clearly for spectacle which i can only describe as 'throwing a tantrum' ruined this movie for me.

I had some fun with this but was left feeling robbed as there was definitely a compelling enough story here for this to be another great movie. I do feel the more intimate character/story driven moments in this film are where it shines and not in the big budget set pieces.

Watch this if you enjoy the genre, but please lower your expectations before doing so!

Watching on the big screen, at its best this would be a solid 8+/10 movie, but there are a few areas that let it down.

First is the excessive lockdown/mask/Zoom scenes at the start of the film. This was never good comedic or dramatic material in the first place, and has already aged badly.

Second is a somewhat over-the-top finale which aims for spectacular but ends up a bit silly - and that isn't where a murder-mystery should be. Less is more.

But the greatest problem is the decision to re-tell the whole story from a different perspective half-way through. After carefully building the tension so that darkness falls with a murderer on the loose... the audience is taken back to the start again. It completely ruins the momentum of the film. Granted, this does allow the reveal to be even more complicated, but it also greatly reduces the wow-factor of Benoit Blanc's deduction. The genius detective solving the case is the fulcrum of this kind of movie and shouldn't be diminished.

Production values are high, and the supporting cast are good, although some have fairly slender roles. Kate Hudson is superb as Birdie.

In conclusion, I'm pleased to see Blanc back. Daniel Craig brought more eccentricity to the character this time around, but I liked it. A modern-day Poirot. I'd happily see a series of his adventures on the big screen. Just return to a more traditional murder-mystery structure (please).

A lot of great actors, and the film is well-shot, but ultimately the whole affair is just too cartoonish to enjoy on anything but a superficial level. Every character (with the possible exception of Janelle Monae's) is so broadly drawn and overacted that you can't invest in them or care what happens to them. Particularly Daniel Craig's lead. He felt like an eccentric, but brilliant, detective in Knives Out, but here he just comes off as silly. His complete inaction toward the end seems to exist only to set up the ridiculous, over-the-top ending. Also, Kathryn Hahn and Leslie Odom. Jr. Are so wasted that I don't know why they even signed on for this. Glass Onion was an okay distraction for a Netflix movie, but I would have been annoyed if I'd paid to see this in a theater.

The long-awaited sequel to Knives Out is here, and although it's still a good time, it feels like a let down overall.

The first film told such a unique and superb mystery that wrapped layers upon layers on top of each other. Meanwhile, Glass Onion tells a story that feels incredibly basic in comparison.

The main problem with this film is that although it's a mystery film, it doesn't give you the tools to solve the mystery. Instead the film walks through the plot and witholds infomation to have big reveals, rather than giving you the clues to work it out yourself.

Daniel Craig was fun the the cast was good overall, with Ed Norton being a big standout. Some characters felt wasted sadly.

Overall, a fun but underwhelming time.

This has to be one of the most pompous, disastrously clumsy and downright awful films I've ever seen. Who on earth thinks this is acceptable awards fodder, really, who the hell watched this film and thought it deserved anything but a razzie. Knives Out was an acceptable distraction, a handful of decent performances helping to mask the overcompensation and self-satisfied approach Rian's accustomed to.

Glass Onion on the other hand has no redeeming features, no subtlety, just awkwardly shoehorned in culture war dialogue (that Rian doesn't seem to understand). Craig's accent, the costumes, the wooden writing, the lack of depth... you'd get a better cinematic experience watching an episode of StreetSharks.