I feel like Rian was mailing this one in. First, i'm not a fan of the way the title is written. A franchise called "Knives Out" is awkward. The set up is intriguing, and definitely had me going...
until the interlude. You'll know when you get there. It really felt cheap and too convenient and easy, and once the reveal happens it becomes less a murder mystery and more a sanctimonious expose on the evil rich guy trope.
The characters are tired cliches, and there is zero chemistry between any of them. We're supposed to believe these people are old friends, and although there is credible animosity between some of them...it is contrived as hell once the full plot comes together.
The first movie was a compelling, interesting story. This feels like it started out that way, and then fell apart with overwriting, and trying too hard. Coincidentally, there is a puzzle box that comes to every "guest" invited to a murder mystery party by a rich "genius" (Edward Norton) and it is supposed to be this complex puzzle that really turns out to be kind of easy to solve (and i'm not sure it's ever revealed how it was conceived). That's exactly how this movie plays out...except Rian Johnson comes off more like the guy than i think he'd be willing to admit.
Daniel Craig is good, and Benoit is fun (even though he's just a retread of every successful detective character, including Columbo). But even his character gets bogged down in moral superiority toward the end.
I believe this guy can write, and he can come up with something better than this. Hoping the next movie is more like the first.
out of
also, pro tip: when your ad campaign includes teases like an assortment of cameos, you know you're in trouble. a lot of times, cameos are used as patchwork to cover up a weak project.
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