45

Ehh, I don't know. On one hand, this serves up a few fun surprises in terms of its structure. Really dug the mid-point '10 PM power outage' set-piece - the Clue: The Movie influence is very strong. How Rian Johnson and his editor Bob Ducsay cut to mysterious bodies running across the frame, pacing the scene as if the answer is just out of reach. Delightful. As a craftsman, he's still got it. It's clear that Johnson is aiming to surpass the devious heights of his Knives Out, and there are glimpses of that tight-rope walk in this, but Glass Onion struggles to balance the often cookie-cutter satire of his characters with the thrilling confidence of his direction. Johnson's latest band of rich characters are (purposefully) shallow and literal and unfortunately the film follows suit. Glass Onion never quite recaptures, or even reinterprets, the spark of Knives Out. That earnest climax with the shitty fire VFX? Folks, it may be cute and quirky, but it's not good. Still, I'll watch at least a couple more of these Benoit Blanc movies even if this could've been much better.