Yes! I can’t wait to rewatch this. I had so much fun seeing this in the theater.
These are strange films in that they’re sort of a kind of “comfortable mediocrity”; it’s fun to watch good actors chew their lines, in a modern no expenses barred set. In an era of silly superhero films it seems like the actor’s themselves are eager to play along. But you never walk away thinking you saw Shakespeare or Hitchcock. It did feel about 30 minutes too long.
The standout performance is clearly Janelle Monáe, and she and Daniel Craig seemed to have fun chewing through accents together while everyone else played themselves (or what Hollywood perceived their stereotype to be).
I think the supporting cast was weaker than in Knives Out 1 and that hurt the film’s overall success. The ensemble cast was nearly perfect in 1, while Kate Hudson kind of anchors them they fall into the vacuum left behind Edward Norton pretty quickly. There were also a few scenes at the end that felt rather off tone for the situation, perhaps. Also it was kind of cameo central for the first 15 minutes. Probably could have stretched the cameos out a bit more, imo. Still liked it though!
Watched last night. At the start I was worried was going to hate watching it because all the characters are so hateful. (Especially Norton playing you-know-who, but almost everybody, really). But it all worked out in the end! Very glad I stuck with it.
Also, I didn’t really think it was that much like the first one? I mean, obviously they’re both mysteries, but I felt they had a fairly different style and focus. At least, they were different enough for me that i didn’t worry about whether it was strictly better or worse than Knives Out.
I thought the wind-up was a bit long when watching it, but once things really get going, all of it pays off beautifully. It was a ton of fun.
The difference style is very much intentional, as he mentions in this scene breakdown:
This was all kinds of fun. And surprisingly timely, as well - I’m not talking about it being set in 2020, I mean the stuff that feels like it’s commenting on things that happened over the last couple of months.
It’s maybe not quite as good as the first one. It’s more shallow and superficial, the whodunnit part isn’t anything out of the ordinary (I figured out the whodunnit and howdunnit of one incident pretty much the instant it happened), and the characters aren’t as affecting. But the point is it’s about shallow and superficial people (who are also, as the theme of the movie keeps reminding us, total idiots) and it keeps enough balls in the air that it doesn’t really matter if the technical whodunnit part is just OK. Maybe the whole is a little less than the sum of its parts, but the parts are so entertaining I will keep watching these as long as Johnson and Craig keep making them.
It’s very well cast. At first I was like, “This list of actors looks fine, but the first one was such a big hit, Johnson surely could have gotten some heavier hitters.” But that was misplaced: everyone here fits perfectly in their role. More importantly, you can believe these people have been hanging out together for years (and yes, special shoutout to Kate Hudson.) It’s a true ensemble. Contrast Branagh’s Poirot movies. They also have talented casts, but in comparison it feels like the actors just showed up on the day for the paycheck. My only complaint here is that Leslie Odom Jr. has nothing to do.
The cameos were all fun, and in the case of Sodheim and Lansbury, poignant.
Comfortable, you bet. Mediocre? No.
Watched it w the fam last night. This one was a bit more of a goof, but we all enjoyed it.
Such a great cast. Janelle Monae is a talented performer.
I was trying to find a through line for the Among Us Zoom participants.
Kareem wrote two or three Mycroft Holmes detective novels (Sherlock’s older brother).
Angela Lansbury, Murder, She Wrote, natch.
I learned Natasha Lyonne will be in a streaming detective series Poker Face on Peacock, written and directed by Rian Johnson, next year.
Sondheim’s inclusion was a ‘mystery’ but I see he wrote a campy detective movie in the 70’s: The Last of Sheila. Anyone seen of heard of that one?
Indeed! The Last of Sheila isn’t campy (well, no more campy than Glass Onion; it is also about shallow and superficial people.) It’s quite good, and anyone who was really into Glass Onion or Knives Out should see it. Why? Because according to Rian Johnson, it was the inspiration for both Knives Out and Glass Onion. (Very directly in the case of Glass Onion - The Last of Sheila is about a super-rich guy who invites his friends on vacation in the Mediterranean, where they play an elaborate game.)
It has a great cast (including James Coburn, James Mason, and a young Ian MacShane) with everyone perfectly matched to their role. Dyan Cannon, who is usually classified as “reliable,” is excellent in this one, and her character was an obvious inspiration for Birdie.
The Last of Sheila shows up from time to time on Turner Classic Movies. Not only was it written by Sondheim, but he co-wrote it with Anthony Perkins. Yes, that Anthony Perkins.
(Other 70s-ish mystery movies any Knives Out fan should see include the original Sleuth, with Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier, and Deathtrap, with Michael Caine, again, and Christopher Reeve.)
The first one ventures into Hitchcock territory with its use of cinematic technique. (Speaking to storytelling language, not cinematography…)
You’re not wrong! I think the real trick here is that, unlike Westworld season 2, it’s able to replicate the same level of misdirection even as its audience knows that’s what it’s doing. The weakest point of comparison here is characterization, but the thing it’s really trying to do, which is appropriately its greatest strength, is build another thrilling puzzle box where everything pays off. It even opens with a nod to that, which was both on the nose and entirely appropriate.
WHAT?! Much excite. Such mystery.
I’m assuming I shouldn’t watch this without watching Knives Out first?
Knives Out doesn’t seem to be on any streaming service. Guess it has to be rented.
There’s no connection between the two movies except Daniel Craig playing the same detective. You can watch Glass Onion first, no problem.
You should watch Knives Out, because it’s brilliant, but I gather order doesn’t really matter.
WTF? I thought Knives Out was made for Amazon, why the hell isn’t it still free on Prime?
Nope, Knives Out was made as a regular theatrical movie released by Lionsgate in 2019 (though a lot of people saw it streaming on Amazon in 2020. )
Glass Onion was made for Netflix, which will also be making the next one.
Huh, goes to show you how totally disconnected from theatrical releases I’ve gotten. Thanks for the clarification.
That much I’d picked up. You’d think Netflix would want to pick up the rights to the first one too.
We watched this today and we enjoyed it very much and it squeezes past the first movie as out favorite of the two. We do hope they make a third.
Don’t forget the original take on Murder on the Orient Express.
Also Sleuth (1972) is available on Youtube, and should be seen by everyone in this thread.
Watched it last night and it is… fine? It is a bit meta because the whole plot is a glass onion, you CAN see right through the layers (“can” not “will”). Janelle Monáe is outstanding.
Will I pay to see it in cinema or even retail? Probably not.
This was great. I really loved the cast and the mystery.
Is no one going to talk about Edward Norton’s part being incredibly topical? The the uber-rich genius guy is actually a damn idiot and a jerk that just bluffs their way to success?
Ruth just started this this morning, so I got to watch the beginning again, and there are a couple of early tells, just as everyone arrives at the island.
Bron claiming the guitar is the one Paul wrote Blackbird on. It’s clearly a right-handed guitar, not leftie like it should have been
And, of course
Bron’s reaction to seeing “Andie”
In hindsight, there are a couple of glaring plot holes that sinks the whole film.
Bron HAD to have known that Andi had a sister who was an identical twin. So when “Andi” arrives on the island, accompanied by Blanc, no less, he would have guessed they were there to investigate the murder, and taken some sort of precaution.
and speaking of precautions
Why didn’t Bron just destroy the napkin as soon as he got his mitts on it, instead of leaving it around to possibly be discovered one day?