For Sight & Sound’s November 2022 issue, I reviewed Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. The review begins:
Daniel Craig is perhaps the only screen actor to have successfully emulated iconic swimwear looks originated by both Ursula Andress and Peter Ustinov. To Craig’s sultry emergence from the waves as James Bond in Casino Royale (2006), which echoed Andress’s as Honey Ryder in Dr. No (1960), we can now add his poolside appearance as Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion, sporting a bold update of the absurd aquatic two-piece worn by Ustinov’s Hercule Poirot in Evil Under the Sun (1982). Versatile!
Reference and recapitulation are at the heart of Rian Johnson’s new film, a follow-up to Knives Out (2019), his popular reinvention of the country-house whodunit. Once again, Blanc – “last of the gentleman sleuths” – is called upon to investigate foul play among a motley group of wealthy deplorables and to stick up for a diamond in the rough at risk of becoming collateral damage. The gang here includes Edward Norton’s narcissistic tech billionaire, Kate Hudson’s heedless fashionista, Kathryn Hahn’s calculating politician, Dave Bautista’s macho influencer and Janelle Monáe as Norton’s enigmatic former business partner. All have gathered at the billionaire’s private Greek island for a murder-mystery game that turns out – you guessed it – to be more deadly than anticipated…
