claira curtis’s review published on Letterboxd:
Grand, endearing, a mystery with the foresight to know that when we look at the donut hole within a donut’s hole, we expect that the donut hole is not a donut hole at all, but a smaller donut with its own hole. Although, I’m not so sure it truly delivers on that last bit.
There’s a new set up here to a certain extent, which means we see some pretty immediate attempts at ensuring Glass Onion is regarded more as its own work than a direct sequel to one of the greater whodunnits of the past twenty years. On one hand, a wise move. I don’t know if we’ll ever see something top the magic of Knives Out. Unfortunately, I find these attempts at differences to detract from the actual success of the film. I think part of what helped Knives Out flourish is that while the characters were over the top in their own ways, their familial ties grounded them much more authentically in the widespread whodunnit-ness. The group of friends in Glass Onion are equally, if not more, over-the-top, but their toxic friendships mean that much, much more of the film has to be spent providing extensive exposition to everyone on screen. That extensive exposition means I found a lot more of the film to be a bit trying.
Not a bad watch, just virtually impossible not to compare to its predecessor, which means, it just can’t shine as bright.
For House of Cinema, Joe and I discussed Glass Onion and our 5 favorite whoduntit films!
