-
Trust Weighted
Very Good
-
66Trust Points
Wick's Review
Summary - Very Good 3.5
What happens when a legendary detective drops in on the murder investigation of a major mystery writer? Rian Johnson’s latest complicated cinematic confection – Knives Out – is what happens. This Agatha Christy homage is loads of fun for nearly two hours. Unfortunately, it’s a 2 hour 10 minute movie.
That last half-hour draws out the movie’s flaws, even as it allows for another handful of plot twists. The flaws really start to wear as the 2 hour mark comes and goes: too long, too smug, insufficiently charismatic. That’s partly due to the movie’s huge ensemble of huge moviestars, more of whom disappoint than delight.
- The disappointments include Daniel Craig, Chris Evans & Michael Shannon.
- The delights include Christopher Plummer & the beguiling Ana de Armas.
The divine de Armas is a moviestar on the rise.
Rian Johnson made his bones with me when he had Bruce Willis & Joseph Gordon-Levitt play the same hitman in the time-traveling masterpiece Looper. By that standard, Knives Out is a disappointment.
By the standards of regular movies, it’s killer.
Acting - Good 3.0
Big Big Cast
- Christopher Plummer is sublime as a wealthy novelist with a seriously dysfunctional family.
- Daniel Craig chews scenery while being pithy, not easy to do. It takes a great actor to be this bad. Plus, his Southern drawl is laughable, more store-bought than lived-in.
- Ana de Armas delights as an RN with a kind heart and a weak stomach. AdA is a terrific actress, as she’s shown time and again, e.g., in Hands of Stone and in Blade Runner 2049 with Ryan Gosling.
- Jamie Lee Curtis brings real femmitas.
- Don Johnson is typecast as a rich philanderer.
- Chris Evans is typecast as a spoiled playboy, yet still isn’t very good. That’s something.
- Michael Shannon is usually better than this.
- Toni Collette is convincingly awful as a lifestyle guru and influencer.
- Lakeith Stanfield underwhelms in the stock role of Detective Lieutenant.
- Notable Cameos
- Frank Oz
- M. Emmet Walsh
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt