Acclaimed writer and director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, The Last Jedi) pays tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie in KNIVES OUT, a fun, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect. When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan’s dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan’s untimely death. With an all-star ensemble cast including Chris Evans, Ana De Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford and Jaeden Martell, KNIVES OUT is a witty and stylish whodunit guaranteed to keep audiences guessing until the very end.
I'm going to start off with saying I love mystery movies. I love a good 'whodunit' and this was a great whodunit! I am pretty good at figuring out the ending of mystery movies as well, and I did not figure out the ending to this one. Which just made it all the much better! I can not wait for a rewatch to catch all the little clues I did not see the first time around. This movie completely deserves all the praise it is getting.
I was able to catch an early preview at my local AMC, they shoved it in their smallest theater (boo!) because it was opening night for Frozen 2. Every single seat was filled, and people were coming in before the movie even started and had to leave because there were no seats left. I did not hear a single complaint from everyone walking out, there was nothing but excitement over a fantastic movie.
I do not want to talk too much about the plot because going into a murder mystery movie completely blind is the best way to do it. The acting was phenomenal and the cast of characters were hilarious and wacky. My only complaint was I felt we didn't get to know them all well enough. Is it bad to hope for a sequel just to learn more about everyone? They were all delightfully awful. I am at least holding out for more mysteries solved by Daniel Craig's character, Benoit Blanc. If nothing else this made me even more excited for Rian Johnson's upcoming Star Wars trilogy. I joked in the past I hoped it was film noir, reminiscent of Brick, but now I truly would love a good mystery set in the Star Wars universe!
