By Patrick R. ’23

Just over three years ago, the delightful mystery movie Knives Out captured the world’s interest with its intriguing premise, star-studded cast, and thrilling conclusion. Since then, fans have been eagerly awaiting the promised sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

The original Knives Out movie centers around a woman named Marta Cabrera, played by Ana de Armas, the nurse of an old, wealthy author who is found mysteriously dead in his room. The case seems simple at first but is stirred up when the private detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig with a humorous Southern accent. In Glass Onion, Benoit Blanc takes center stage as the clear protagonist in the film, trying to unravel a new mystery that takes place on a private island owned by the eccentric billionaire Miles Bron.

When the first movie in a series performs as well as Knives Out, there is always one question that gets asked once a sequel is made. Is it as good as its predecessor?

With Glass Onion, that question is disappointingly easy to answer, but shouldn’t be seen as the end-all-be-all for the movie. The original is the clear better choice. It boasts a more involved plot, a more unexpected twist, and a satisfying ending. However, that is not to say that Glass Onion isn’t worth a watch. 

The movie starts off with an extremely engaging opening sequence involving the star-studded cast attempting to solve elaborate puzzle boxes, and eventually finds its way to the beautiful private island of the aforementioned billionaire, where all of the shenanigans will take place. Without giving away spoilers, the movie later uses some unique storytelling techniques to heighten the mystery and further draw the viewer in, and still provides an extremely satisfying end to the film.

However, that ending is unfortunately broadcast quite a bit throughout the movie, beyond the usual subtle trail of breadcrumbs laid in mysteries, and if you catch any of a few simple details, the entire plot becomes clear quite early. Glass Onion also falls into the trap of spending too much time in flashback sequences with little to no lead-up, making the viewer feel out of place and reducing the intensity of the present storyline, since it is abandoned for such a long period in the middle.

None of this is to say that the movie is better off being skipped and left unwatched. It may not make your top 10 list, but if you go in with the right mindset, it can still be an entertaining movie-going experience, and is one that I would recommend without a moment’s hesitation.