I recently saw the latest Knives out entry in cinemas, so I thought it might be an appropriate time to do a good ol’ fashioned round up. Basically a Knives Out round up, but with Logan Lucky in there as well, ‘cause Craig’s sporting a southern accent in that joint too.
4 Glass Onion
Not necessarily a complete failure, but definitely the weakest entry. The onion layer metaphor can’t beat the classic doughnut metaphor, after all. And it’s proof that a fairly stacked cast doesn’t mean the joint’s going to be great quality. It’s a bit of fun, don’t get me wrong. But it still felt somewhat hollow. Not how an onion should feel, eh? ۹( Tʖ̯T )و
Benoit Blanc’s invited to a fancy smancy get up in Greece, murder happens, and it’s pretty easy to guess who the culprit is from the off. Not that that’s a bad thing (see: Wake Up Dead Man and the original Knives Out). But the way those onion layers unfold isn’t particularly engaging. Comedic talents like Kathryn Hahn aren’t used to full effect, and it’s more fun when Blanc enters the scene after murders have already happened. With murders happening during the proceedings, it somehow takes away the jeopardy of the whodunnit schtick. The plot tries to add too many layers for its own good, and the dialogue falls flat compared to its witty predecessor. It’s definitely not onion its way to success. Goodbye.
ヾ(＾ ∇ ＾).
3 Knives Out
This position isn’t an insult, by the way. It’s just that the next two are ever so slightly better in my eyes. And this is the original, after all. The doughnut hole daddy. Uh, anyway, moving away from that uncomfortable imagery, the release of this film at the time just felt like a refreshing whodunnit. Not particularly hard to guess who, uh, dunnit, per say, but just nice cosy film watching. And particularly entertaining when you consider the knives being directed at Rian Johnson after The Last Jedi. Ah, Star Wars fans. You gotta love ‘em (I mean, you really don’t, but…anyway). >(ভ⤙ ভ “)<
A star studded cast, but one made particularly interesting by certain folk playing against type. Michael Shannon playing a weak insecure dude instead of strong loud macho dude. Chris Evans playing an asshole instead of America’s ass (Captain America fans, eat your heart out). Yeah, a lot to love. And also a nice turn for Craig after his serious straight turn as Bond. Oh, and if you hadn’t noticed, Blanc’s gay (Johnson confirmed it during an interview for Glass Onion). Soz mate. No more super strong masculine macho uber tough Bond for ya. Oh, how times have changed. (◔_◔)
2 Wake Up Dead Man
The most recent Knives Out, uh, outing, and just about the best one. After doing a cardinal sin of having murders take place during the plot proceedings, they’ve gone back to simple by having the murder take place off screen. And Blanc doesn’t turn up for a while either. And my friend’s aunt essentially owns the church where a lot of the film takes place. The more you know. ¬‿¬
But yeah, another stacked cast. And it pays off this time. Josh O’Connor plays the main priest. Personally I think O’Connor’s super overused these days, although he’s very talented. I preferred the good old days where he played a gay farmer in God’s Own Country, when he was relatively unknown. My friend (the same friend whose aunt own the church, funnily enough) described the film as soft porn (in a negative sense) when I watched it with her, but hey, I thought it was good. Everyone has their opinion. And O’Connor’s playing another gay dude in an upcoming film with Paul Mescal, another kind of oversaturated dude in the film world. It’s called The History of Sound. Again, the more you know. ¬‿¬
Anyway. I haven’t described the plot. The main priest of the church (Josh Brolin) gets offed, and Blanc sweeps in to save the day. That’s the crux. As already mentioned, it’s not hard to guess who’s done the deed, but it’s a fun experience just to watch the drama play out with a cast that seem to be having a good time. It’s weird to see Blanc with full hair going on, but hey, embrace the new. (–⩊–)
1 Logan Lucky
Craig has a comparatively small role in Steven Soderbergh’s crime caper compared to the Knives Out films, but boy does he make an impact. The film came out around the time most audiences knew Craig purely as a buttoned-down Bond, so this level of crazy came as a bit of a surprise. His character’s basically the lynchpin in securing a major level heist for the Logan brothers, played with some pretty decent rizz by Channing Tatum and, particularly, Adam Driver (‘cauliflower’ will never be heard the same way again). Soderbergh manages to produce a comedic film without laying into the hillbilly aesthetic too much, and the end result really pays off. ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ – ˵ ) ✧
But more on Craig’s character, Joe bang. Craig’s Bond had a bit of blonde, but Bang goes for the full bleach, with a lot of tattoos too. Admittedly, there not hair on the character’s head to begin with, but still, it makes an impression. Apparently Soderbergh convinced Craig to take the role by promising he could have ‘carte blanche to build this character any way he wanted’, which included appearance, accent and the guarantee of not having to do any press tours, no doubt a welcome relief after his Bond tours. And he certainly puts in a big…bang.
(°〇°)