Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)

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“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” may have a disappointing mystery, but its zany and comedic characters compensate for that.

Director(s)	Rian Johnson
Screenplay By	Rian Johnson
Sequel To	Knives Out
Date Released (Film Festival – Montclair Film Festival)	10/21/2022
Date Released (In Theaters)	11/23/2022
Date Released (Netflix)	12/23/2022
Genre(s)	Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Duration	2 Hours and 19 Minutes
Content Rating	Rated PG-13
Noted Cast
Benoit	Daniel Craig
Phillip	Hugh Grant
Miles	Edward Norton
Claire	Kathryn Hahn
Lionel	Leslie Odom Jr.
Birdie	Kate Hudson
Duke	Dave Bautista
Andi	Janelle Monáe

This content contains pertinent spoilers. Also, images and text in this post may contain affiliate links which, if a purchase is made from those sites, we may earn money or products from the company.

Film Summary

Set during the pandemic, Benoit finds himself bored with nothing to do. Which means getting on the nerves of his partner, Phillip’s, since Benoit has made the bath into an office. However, then Benoit finds himself invited to join a murder mystery hosted by Miles Bron. Someone who has made a bit of a collective which includes the governor of Connecticut, who soon might be a senator in Claire. Following that is Lionel, a scientist, Birdie, a model turned clothing designer, and Duke, a twitch streamer who dabbles in social commentary.

Originally, Miles wanted a simple game with his friends, but as we’re let into the nefarious things Miles did to become rich and stay rich, things shift. Particularly as Andi’s role in Miles’ wealth is revealed, and she gets involved in the core murder mystery.

Things To Note

Why Is “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” Rated PG-13

• Dialog: Minor cursing, but not enough to make it into every other word
• Violence: Murder and gun violence
• Sexual Content: Slight innuendo but no nudity
• Miscellaneous: Drinking

Collected Quote(s)

“Dangerous thing to think speaking without thought is speaking the truth.”
— Benoit

Character Descriptions

Please Note: This character guide is not an exhaustive list of every cast member, and character descriptions may contain what can be considered spoilers.

Benoit

A world-renowned detective whose profile is not at all a secret since he is on Google, all Benoit wants is a challenge. However, the pandemic has made it so he hasn’t gotten consistent work in a while, and playing “Among Us” is not scratching his itch.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: James Bond

Phillip

Based on Rian Johnson noting Benoit is gay, it can be assumed that Phillip is his partner since they live in the same home and Phillip doesn’t appear to be an assistant.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Jonathan Fraser in “The Undoing,” Will Freeman in “About a Boy,” The Prime Minister in “Love Actually”

Miles

While initially disliked by his group, Miles had the kind of luck or network that made his dreams come true and theirs, which quickly led him to have social currency and become their leader.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Derek in “American History X,” Narrator in “Fight Club” and Bruce Banner in “The Incredible Hulk”

Claire

A housewife turned governor, currently running for the senate, Claire owes her career to Andi seeing something in her and Miles, eventually, getting Claire to meet the potential Andi saw.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Agatha Harkness and Agnes in “WandaVision” and Carla in the “Bad Moms” franchise

Lionel

At one time, Lionel was, unfortunately the type who fit into the awful saying, “Those who can’t do, teach.” But, thanks to Andi and Miles, he became a notable scientist who is Miles’ right hand.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Aaron Burr in “Hamilton”

Birdie

A model turned fashion designer, Birdie is the type whose career, multiple times, had to be put on pause due to making a gaffe on social media. She even has her assistant keep her from her phone to enact real damage control.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Penny Lane in “Almost Famous” and Andie in “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”

Duke

When it comes to Duke, he started off as another guy who lived with his mom, playing video games and hoping to do so for a job. However, over time he started adding in social commentary and Duke hopes, with Miles getting into the news industry, he may promote him.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Drax in “Guardians of the Galaxy” and Batista in “WWE”

Andi

Despite Miles getting the majority of the credit for where everyone currently is, it is because of Andi that Miles even knew any of them. She saw something in all of them and started the collective. It’s just when Andi and Miles no longer saw eye to eye in the company they started, everyone sided with him and did her dirty.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Jackie and Alex in “Antebellum,” Mary Jackson in ”Hidden Figures” and Teresa in “Moonlight”

Review

Our Rating: Positive (Worth Seeing)

Highlights

Janelle Monae

We’re going to dance around certain spoilers since this movie doesn’t come out in theaters for a month and on Netflix for two months. But we will say, Rian Johnson definitely put a notable amount of this movie on Monae’s shoulders. The mystery, the real one, she is tasked with handling, may feel weak, but there is no denying Monae handles her part in driving the narrative well.

Whether tasked with being comical, with a quirky accent, or coming off as a brooding, potential suspect, they handle both sides beyond what you may expect.

It’s Comical & Has Good Pacing

Where “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” excels is comedy. Between Kate Hudson playing a genuinely dumb blonde, Duke and his mom having a hilarious back and forth at the beginning of the movie, and then Benoit? Unlike the first “Knives Out,” Johnson figured out a way to keep you engaged through humor, even as the mystery loses its luster.

On The Fence

Kate Hudson as Birdie

While many will likely find Birdie comical, just as the film is slightly dated for taking place in 2020, so can the Birdie character feel dated. Her being a dumb blonde who thinks a sweatshop is a place where sweatpants are made, could be seen as funny to some or an uninspiring joke to others.

To us, she is very hit or miss, and more often than not, a miss, for you can easily recognize that as much as her privilege is being made fun of, it can’t be lost on you that her ignorance is often at the expense of people of color, and Jewish people, for one joke.

Which isn’t to say we don’t get she isn’t meant to be seen as a politically incorrect character, but something about her just feels lazy to us.

The Resolution To The Mystery

“Knives Out 2” is a whodunit that simplifies everything. Benoit, alongside someone else, literally breaks down the motive and opportunity most characters would have to kill. However, when everything ends and Benoit notes how dumb everything that happened was, it isn’t lost on you that this movie didn’t necessarily live up to the hype.

Yes, the cast is stellar, but the ending, how the true mystery gets resolved, doesn’t make you feel like a grand detective or leaves you shocked. If anything, it’ll make you wonder if the first “Knives Out” was that good, or was it the hype built from Netflix paying over $400 million to have this film and a third one? Never mind each casting news story making it seem this was going to be epic.

Because, ultimately, it seems there was far more put into making this comedic, and not feel like it overstays its welcome, unlike the first film, than crafting a quality mystery with a satisfying payoff.

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