Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Glass Onion adopts the sturdy structural underpinnings of the Agatha Christie-like whodunit, and presents them with an ingenious mix of postmodern irony and bona fide awe.

“Glass Onion” is completely silly, but it’s not only silly. Explicitly set during the worst months of the Covid pandemic — the spring of 2020 — “Glass Onion” leans into recent history without succumbing to gloom, bitterness or howling rage, which is no small accomplishment. One way to interpret the title is that a glass onion may be sharp, and may have a lot of layers, but it won’t make you cry.

Craig may be the main character, but “Glass Onion” belongs to Monáe. Johnson has scripted one hell of a role for her, and she plays it with such a wide range of emotions and tones while modeling a stunning array of power suits that she drops the audience’s jaws. Monae’s performance turns on a dime with whiplash precision, so when the film folds in on itself, we grab hold of her hand for dear life. She pulls us along with such glee that it makes one giddy.

The real star? Johnson’s crisply mischievous screenplay, which crams in so many laughs you almost don’t notice the occasional plot holes.

Even more than the first “Knives Out,” “Glass Onion” is a thriller wrapped in a deception tucked inside a riddle. It is, of course, a murder mystery with multiple suspects, but it’s one that comes with byways and flashbacks and bells and whistles, not to mention two whodunit homicides for the price of one.

Writer-director Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is that plate of morsels in movie form, a breezy caper that mostly sustains its novelty, even if it stumbles a bit in the last third.

Johnson still does whodunits better than Kenneth Branagh’s horrid Agatha Christie adaptations he keeps torturing audiences with. Yet despite the giggles and the beefier budget — explosions, an exotic locale, massive sets — “Glass Onion” comes off slight.

Smart. Funny. Thrilling. Great standalone mystery as opposed to a simple sequel.

This vegetable of the allium genus made of heated sand is a very okay film.

The same puzzle, but more tedious. 'Glass Onion' is not better than its predecessor; it is weaker and less convincing, despite having a script that I consider denser. Johnson makes a misstep that the previous film avoided: a series of decisions based on coincidences that sometimes feel forced. It’s not poorly written, but it does stretch credibility. It is less engaging and entertaining. The pace is noticeably slower, and this time the film relies more on the cast than on the story itself—a balance that was handled more effectively in the first film. While Craig brings his signature charisma and helps carry the ensemble (which is otherwise somewhat limited), Edward Norton does not stand out to me. The set design, although eye-catching with a giant crystal onion, loses much of the impact seen in the previous installment. Still, Johnson avoids monotony with a narrative that feels distinct and “refreshing” within the same universe. The plot is slightly more intricate, and it’s clear that this is a scripted story, particularly in the way the characters formulate their theories. It neither surpasses nor equals its predecessor; however, it does not disappoint. The film is solid, light, and enjoyable.

Poorly acted in most places and cliched in all others. Another case of Netflix paying for reviews on the internet. Universal acclaim with critics, a whole bunch of confused viewers who can't figure out why they're watching a B-movie mystery that's rated 81 by critics. Done with online reviews.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]