Knives Out Sequel Review: Johnson Outdoes Himself

Expressing one’s enthusiasm for Glass Onion, Rian Johnson’s sequel to Knives Out, presents a dilemma. Is it possible to declare that it’s more pleasing in most respects (and neck-and-neck in most others) without sounding dismissive of the thoroughly delightful original? Would it help to add that, walking out of this film, rewatching the first only becomes a more attractive proposition? (And that’s for someone who just revisited Knives again last week.)

This picture offers more action, more delicious comeuppances, more daring design and a few genuinely surprising cameos just for good measure. Yet it doesn’t suffer from the usual “give ’em the same thing, but more of it” bloat common in sequels to surprise hits. Its ensemble is more varied than Knives‘, and its critique of the clueless rich more relevant to our age.