December 23rd, known by many as Christmas Eve-Eve, will signify the return of everyone’s favorite Colonel Sanders-inspired detective, Benoit Blanc, in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Three years after Johnson’s finger-lickin’ good original set our cinematic taste buds ablaze with its 11 herbs and spices, including mystery, mayhem, and murder, the long-awaited sequel was released theatrically last month to great box-office and critical acclaim.
Sequels that follow beloved original movies are a little like that younger brother attempting to outdo their better-looking, academically superior, more popular sibling; the likes of Jaws 2, Mean Girls 2, and Batman & Robin irrefutably fall within that bracket. With 2019’s Knives Out being a staunch success, is Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery that unfortunate sibling whose parents, friends, and teachers think the sun shines out of their older brother’s butt? Let’s take a closer look at the two movies and ascertain whether Glass Onion replicates or betters its blood-relative…
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Peeling Away the Layers of Glass Onion: How it Compares to Knives Out
Netflix
Aside from the obvious (Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc), Glass Onion is an entirely different entity than that of its predecessor. New cast, new crime, new setting, new mise-en-scene. Knives Out was a nosedive into the past, set at a gothic mansion in misty New England, with a bespectacled Benoit Blanc sporting tweed suits, with nods to Conan-Doyle’s 19th-century detective Sherlock Holmes with his magnifying glass and coat, perhaps also stylistically reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries. It was a film that certainly included what one would call quintessentially classic whodunit tropes blended with this modernistic twist.
Glass Onion, on the other hand, has a particularly contemporary feel; it’s bigger, bolder, and brasher. Set on a futuristic island powered by some sort of acorn-sized hydrogen crystal, it places Blanc at the center of a mystery a million miles from the haunting, Cluedo-style abode of the previous film. Edward Norton plays Miles Bron, a tech-extraordinaire and technological business tycoon who seems to have masterly ripped everyone off that he’s invited to his private soirée.
In comparison to Knives Out, Johnson’s sequel is even more socially aware, mocking classism and pointing fun at the frequent shallowness of the wealthy. The two movies utilize a relatively un-complex approach that jumps back and forth, gradually unveiling the truth behind the madness ensuing, or does it? The narrative’s sleight of hand is such that the audience is constantly being made to second-guess Rian Johnson’s next move and reevaluate his last.
Comparing Casts in Glass Onion and Knives Out
On closer examination, studying the cast of each of the films, Knives Out incontestably steals the A-listers award. Yet as all film-buffs will be able to attest, fame doesn’t necessarily equate to the caliber of performances or success of a film. However, with Knives Out, the script is more fluid, the characters have more depth, and as a result, we as an audience have more invested in them. They are a befuddlement of eccentrics, leaches, and self-entitled brats.
Glass Onion is undeniably well-acted, and the characters ostensibly have more natural pizazz, yet there is a stark lack of identity and profundity upon comparison. We are made aware of their flaws, and the stockpile of skeletons they have contained within their closets, yet their development always feels slightly insufficient.
Craig’s Benoit Blanc remains as outrageously flamboyant in both films. From tweed suits and a striped beach romper to off-the-wall remarks, and his suspiciously well-spoken KFC hillbilly accent, Blanc is what ties all the loose parts together. He is arguably more alert, wittier, and funnier in Glass Onion, yet more of a discerning and imposing presence in the former. Overall, the two films are much of a muchness, with both possessing their own satirical idiosyncrasies. They’re equally absorbing whodunits, but Knives Out marginally edges the battle of the brothers with its more potent murder and greater, more intriguing character pool.
Developing a Knives Out Franchise
Lionsgate
What was the last real, established murder mystery caper? Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, as brilliant as it was, was just another screen adaptation of classic literature; Kenneth Branagh’s takes on Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile were unnecessary in comparison to the great ’70s movies of the same name; David O. Russell’s recent Amsterdam had critics and moviegoers alike frequently nodding off during intervals.
The truth is, the modern murder mystery franchise currently resembles barren land — every few years a project may flower before inevitably withering away. Through Rian Johnson and Knives Out, the sub-Saharan terrain of the murder mystery has finally been penetrated with flourishing roots. Due to Netflix’s seemingly bottomless chasm of finances, and Rian Johnson’s desire to add a third edition of Knives Out in coming years, the prospect of franchising the series is both real and attainable. While the fate of a third film hinges on Glass Onion’s translation to the small screen, and its reception from Netflix’s 223 million worldwide subscribers, it’s certainly exciting times for those who have been fans of Knives Out and Glass Onion.
For as long as Craig and Johnson are happy to gift their craftsmanship to these comic-strip-like, “donut-hole” murder mysteries, the Knives Out franchise is feasibly fail-proof.
