The first reviews for whodunnit sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery are now in, so how does director Rian Johnson’s follow-up compare to its critically acclaimed predecessor? Following its debut at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival, critics have quickly heaped praise on Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, calling it “fun,” “daring,” and “extravagant.” In other words, everything you could hope for a Knives Out sequel to be.

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com could not help but applaud Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery for being so much fun. A sense of fun so overwhelming that it becomes contagious.

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Collider’s Ross Bonaime awarded Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery an A grade, heaping praise on both director Rian Johnson and his stellar ensemble cast.

“It’s all just so much fun. There’s a contagious aspect to the ensemble in that one can easily tell that they just had a blast making this movie on a Greek isle with dialogue as incredibly smart as Johnson’s.”

The celebrations continue courtesy of John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter, who teased the action, twists, and crowd-pleasing cameos.

“It’s so much fun to watch Johnson in this mode, especially with a cast this relentlessly fun and playful. With Glass Onion, Johnson proves himself to be a film disruptor of the highest order.”

Kate Erbland of IndieWire gives Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery a near-perfect A- and calls the sequel a welcome return for the brilliant Benoit Blanc.

“This picture offers more action, more delicious comeuppances, more daring design and a few genuinely surprising cameos just for good measure.”

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Will Land on Netflix in December

     Netflix

Deadline’s Damon Wise, meanwhile, could not help but commend both Daniel Craig and Janelle Monáe for their standout performances amid such a standout cast.

“If you loved Benoit Blanc in “Knives Out”… seeing him tossed into the deep end of yet another wacky-rich whodunit will only further bewitch you.”

Variety’s Owen Gleiberman praised Johnson for expanding the world of Knives Out, though did comment that, sometimes, too much of a good thing is still too much.

“This leaves two standouts: Craig, now free of Bond, has finally nailed comedy, revealing previously untapped depths (a scene in which the deadpan Blanc hides behind and between a bronze statue’s buttocks is a mini-masterpiece of silent comedy). But the Ana de Armas award for the second iteration of Knives Out goes to the simply fantastic Monáe who puts in one of the best and most intuitively perfect performances of 2022.”

Benjamin Lee of the Guardian felt similarly, concluding that, while fun, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is not without its issues.

““Glass Out” expands into something even more extravagant than the first “Knives Out,” which is what you want, even if at moments it can feel like a little more than you want.”

Less impressed was TheWrap’s Martin Tsai, who felt that Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery fails where other, more modern whodunnits have succeeded.

“It’s hard not to have fun when Johnson pulls the strings, I just wish he’d not pulled quite so many and quite so hard.”

Directed by Rian Johnson, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery stars Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista, and begins when a tech billionaire invites his friends for a getaway on his private Greek island. When someone turns up dead, Detective Benoit Blanc is put on the case.

“A lot has happened since 2019, and “Glass Onion” acknowledges the Covid-19 pandemic in its opening sequences. But it hasn’t anticipated genre-shifting game-changers like “Bodies Bodies Bodies” and “Triangle of Sadness” now driving the conversation.”

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is scheduled to be released in select cinemas in November 2022, before its streaming release on December 23, 2022, by Netflix.