Mid-October, I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to attend the European premiere of Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig’s long-awaited and COVID-delayed Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the sequel to their 2019 murder mystery hit, Knives Out.

Back in 2019, director Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Looper) and actor Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Skyfall) smashed a doughnut hole into the murder mystery game with their original comedy-mystery, Knives Out. Following the so-so success of Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 Murder on the Orient Express, it seemed as if the murder mystery genre was, unfortunately, dying out. In 2019, however, Knives Out flipped that completely. It blew up at the box office, making a whopping $312,897,920 internationally. It managed to find the perfect balance of being hilarious yet simultaneously hair-raising, carrying almighty cast - Ana De Armas (Blonde, No Time To Die), Chris Evans (Captain America, The Gray Man), Toni Collette (Hereditary, The Sixth Sense), and Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween, True Lies), to name a few. It found the perfect balance of having audiences laughing, yet also having their cogs turning -  something that is so rare with modern cinema.

The buzz at the European premiere for the long-awaited sequel on the closing night of London Film Festival is absolutely astounding. The audience is whirring awaiting the arrivals; with every car that pulls up to the red carpet entrance, there’s a synchronised drawing in of breath and subsequent roar as the big names arrive: Daniel Craig, Dave Bautista, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Edward Norton, Madelyn Cline, Janelle Monáe, Jessica Henwick, Katherine Hahn, and, of course, director Rian Johnson. They’re met by a glorious cheer as they walk onstage at the vast Royal Festival Hall to give a pre-screening introduction. The exact same cheer returns, noticeably louder, as they come back after the film for a question-and-answer. The general cast consensus was that they felt an astounding relief at finally being able to make and release the film following a minor disruption, otherwise known as Covid. They all massively enjoyed their time on set; they were able to connect interpersonally whilst also having an unbelievable amount of fun shooting the actual film in spite of Covid restrictions, meaning they were practically locked in a sound stage for months. They all shared the opinion that they adored working with Johnson, appreciating the extent to which he gave them creative control over their own characters. They all said that they couldn’t wait to see what he does with potential future Knives Out sequels (following the multi-million-dollar deal with Netflix).

It’s difficult to get into the film itself without spoiling it. The sequel, of course, centres around Daneil Craig’s hilariously adorable Detective Benoit Blanc who is one of many guests invited to eccentric billionaire Miles Bron’s (Norton) private Greek island to participate in a murder-mystery party game. When one of the guests dies, Benoit is inadvertently forced into yet another murder case.

Nothing but praise is possible for this film. The three acts are positioned beautifully (again, this is hard to explain without spoiling the film!), the cinematography is dazzling, and the pacing is absolutely perfect. Despite such a large cast, every single actor hits their role on the head with complete and utter ease, each character covered in equal detail and being explored to great extent in terms of each of their motives, lives, and personalities. It’s intended to be a light, fun (yet gently sophisticated) film that is completely separate from its predecessor, yet also completely the same in terms of what made the original film so great. It doesn’t try to be anything else than a fun, warm, blowout murder mystery which is what makes it such a deeply satisfying mystery-comedy. This film does seem to play into current times more so than the original Knives Out - if you’ve seen it, then you’ll know what specific parts I’m talking about - but that doesn’t distract from the central plot. If anything, it adds to it and adds a fresh comedic tone, accentuated by the return Craig’s hilarious accent. 

When this hits Netflix in December, make sure to not miss it. This one is worth the watch.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery hits Netflix on 23rd December 2022.