By Emily Hanson || Arts and Leisure Editor
In 2022, the highly anticipated Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery released briefly in theaters. The film shot over to Netflix pretty quickly, and fans of 2019’s highly successful Knives Out flocked straight over, too. Rian Johnson—known for his work on Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)—directed both mystery films, in addition to writing and producing them. In this review, I’m going to take a look at how this unconventional “sequel” compares to the original film. Don’t worry if you’re still hoping to watch, there are no spoilers ahead!
First off, the only real reason Glass Onion should be considered a sequel film to Knives Out is because, other than its full title, it stars Daniel Craig as famed detective Benoit Blanc. Both films stand alone, however, as they feature their own sets of characters, settings, and storylines. Knives Out highlights the family of a recently deceased billionaire who debate the interesting outcome of his will. Glass Onion, however, focuses on an eccentric group of friends who are invited to a murder mystery party on a private island in Greece (in May 2020 at the height of COVID, naturally) and the utter chaos that ensues. Both movies have a mystery element that the watcher can attempt to piece together, which at times can be predictable. But the plots make up for it in wild twists and intriguing characters.
Most viewers watched and loved Knives Out when it came out, but unusually for me, I happened to watch Glass Onion first. I will say that now, having seen both, I definitely recommend watching Knives Out first, as chronologically intended. It introduces you to Detective Blanc as a character, so you’ll already know him when you watch the second one! I do love both movies as they stand, though. Knives Out has a particularly cohesive story, especially if you have high standards for clever and funny mystery stories. Its cast worked brilliantly, including Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Christopher Plummer, among many others. The storyline is solid, and its twists and turns had me guessing the entire time, in the best way.
Glass Onion is a rare hit when it comes to continuations of admired films. With a star-studded cast—Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, and Janelle Monáe—it’s no wonder the film is generating buzz right now. It is definitely jam-packed with the same sense of wit and charm that fans adored from the first movie, and I’d even call Glass Onion the funnier of the two.
All in all, I’m really not sure I can pick a winner between Knives Out and Glass Onion. All I know is Rian Johnson did an incredible job, and if you haven’t seen these movies, go make some popcorn and cancel your plans for tonight.
Sophomore Emily Hanson is the Arts and Leisure Editor for The College Reporter. Her email is ehanson@fandm.edu.