“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” is a worthy nomination of the various film awards for 2023. The movie is exceptional as a stand-alone sequel. There is no need to watch the first movie as the series follows Agatha Christie’s (“Death on the Nile”) episodic writing structure. There are clues the director Rian Johnson (“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”) has created for the audience to figure out the various twists and turns. With each rewatch, there is always something new that the audience can pick up on. Unlike the original being set as a classic murder mystery, the “Glass Onion” film is much more contemporary with the settings, characters and nods to pop culture. 

We see the sensational return of Daniel Craig (“No time to Die”) playing Benoit Blanc, the world’s best detective. Craig is notable in screenwriting for the Oscars and best motion picture/best actor for the Golden Globe. Set in May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, five friends are invited to a Greek island by Miles Brawn (Edward Norton, “Fight Club”), a billionaire tech genius. As a way to celebrate their yearly retreat the “disrupters” are cordially invited to a murder mystery of his own “death.” Blanc gets wrapped into a real one before long as Casandra “Andi” Brand (Janelle Monae, “Hidden Figure”), Miles’ ex-partner, has come to the retreat. The audience is told the answer in plain sight but is cleverly hidden with the editing and direction work. 

The cast of characters is as distinctive as it is colorful with great care being taken in every character’s clothing. The introduction scene that shows the characters on the way to Greece uses face masks as a way to encapsulate the characters’ personalities. Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson, “How to lose a guy in 10 days”) is a fashion designer and influencer who blurts out terribly dumb things. She wears a clear mask purely for aesthetic purposes. Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn, “Wanda Vision”) wears a disposable mask messily and is introduced in a disheveled way, showing her chaotic side when compared to her image as a politician. Lionel Toussant (Leslie Odom Jr., “Hamilton”) wears an N95 mask fitted to him completely as a scientist and understands how COVID-19 works. Duke (David Bautista, “Guardian of the Galaxy”) and his girlfriend, Whiskey (Madelyn Cline, “Outer Banks”) are men’s rights activists who stream on Twitch and do not wear masks at all. Detective Blanc is meticulously dressed, as he wears his face mask to match his clothes.

The movie is comedic and lighthearted despite the drama and mystery involved in the plot. Various celebrity cameos and names are dropped throughout the film, including Yo-Yo Ma (“Sing Me Home”) and Serena Williams. This makes it clear to viewers that the characters live in a rich and famous environment. The movie is well-paced, with each scene being important and effective in telling the audience pieces of the puzzle. This would be a great movie to watch on a weekend. “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” is streaming on Netflix.

Image from Netflix via YouTube