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Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista. © 2022. Netflix and T-Street. Directed by Rian Johnson.
Watched it at The Chicago International Film Festival 2022 through Music Box Theater (CIFF #3)
A Simple Friendship Group Reunion Gone Wrong...No not a YouTube Prank Gone Wrong The mastermind of the first film is back again with another murder mystery story filled with twists and turns. But with a new cast of characters and location but with the same old detective. This time, however, it takes into a new direction that not a lot of murder mystery films capture in the right way. Luckily, this film does and the execution of it is nearly flawless. This is a film that is absolutely meant to be seen in a theater with a full audience and you will laugh your ass off. This was quite the ride and I was glad to be a part of this ride months early. Join me on the Island of richness and explore the Glass Onion. Unless you will become the first victim of this ride. Story: Tech billionaire Miles Bron invites his friends for a getaway on his private Greek island. When someone turns up dead, Detective Benoit Blanc is put on the case. Everyone questions their personality and must find out who killed one of their members on board. That's all I can say about the story because it's better to go blind when watching this film. This film is much bigger in scale with a bigger cast and a bigger budget. It's a sequel of course and it has to make unique choices to make the film fresh. Luckily, it keeps what made the first film amazing, and tries new things along the way. Sure, some of the twists are changed including the writing structure and villain. But the core elements of a Knives Out film are still here and it works flawlessly. The writing in this film is stronger as the first one and the comedy is way stronger in this film. The first film included more edgy and crude humor while this one is more light-hearted yet smartly hilarious. Plus, they got away with a lot of shit including visual comedy. The screenplay is a little bit longer but filled with great direction and detail and making the plot and world-building more believable. There are funny cameos in this film including two big-name stars and one funny video game reference that really made me laugh out loud. Fucking brilliant. Besides the screenplay, the directing is very strong in this film. I love Rian Johnson's style and his directing is way bigger and there's a lot of freedom to make this film more amazing. A lot of great directing choices and beautiful framing to make this film as huge as possible. That is what a sequel should do while keeping the core elements intact. The story is also very strong. I love how it's a brand new cast of characters while we have the same old detective looking out for everyone. But there's a major twist in the second act which I won't get into. The plot gets crazier which this film is based on crazy plot twists but the execution of it is done right. Great execution means great directing, and this film's ending is not what I expected. But it's fresh which is a major plus. I really loved the story and how it expanded from one rich house to a goddamn billionaire's island. The characters in this film are amazing. While I prefer the first film's cast, this cast however brought a lot of comedy and tone to this film. Every actor fits perfectly for their character and they each have their moment. The three actors I adore in this film are Daniel Craig, Janelle Monae, and Edward Norton. They are a powerhouse in this film and the rest of the cast is entertaining. Kate Hudson really stole every scene in my opinion and Dave Bautista is still proving that he's a great actor. Everyone is amazing in this film and I thought it could've been anyone who killed this specific character in this film. The build-up is done right and I loved the tension while adding humor at appropriate moments. The cinematography is more beautiful and grander in this film. There are a lot of creative shots than the first one and I'm happy they kept the film grain effect. The richness of the camera work done in this film is well executed and the visual effects are pretty great. The set design is just spectacular. I was mind blown by the architecture of the huge mansion set and I honestly didn't know what was fake or real. I loved the costume designs of each character and the art direction is legit on-point. Rian Johnson's vision is shown here a lot and I'm happy that this film makes everything fresh and new while still having the core production elements of the first film. Overall, the production is fantastic and I can see this film pulling some nominations. Just splendid! However, not every film is perfect, including my short films. Some of the VFX fire looks iffy in some shots which bothered me. Not only that, the film pacing is way slower in this film and while it's not a bad thing for me, I felt like the madness stopped. But the mystery kept the pacing alive which was good. Some audiences will find it a flaw but not me. The one thing I felt watching this film was missing the simple mystery yet grand execution of the first one. But I still loved the risks they took. This film was a mystery surprise. It's a great example of what a sequel should do and I loved the execution of this film. The writing and directing are still top-tier, with an amazing cast of characters, phenomenal production design on a mid-budget film, and a hilarious fun time. Watch this film with a packed audience and I bet you will laugh at every joke, even the non-funny ones. Plus, I got to see Kathryn Hahn which was amazing and her Q&A was very interesting. She told us to not say anything about the plot so I won't. Unless you pay me 100 bucks to spoil the film for you. In Major Theaters Thanksgiving Week. Later on Netflix, December 23, 2022. Vizeit Score: "A" (Share this review with your film friends and on social media! Thank you for your continue support.) Copyright © 2022. Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr.
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