Skip to main content

Knives Out | Average Guy Movie Review



When the famous mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead in his home, legendary detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is brought in to investigate. But in order to do so, Blanc will have to deal with Harlan's extremely dysfunctional family, all of whom are potential suspects. And the only person who can help him sort through all the madness is Harlan's nurse, Marta (Ana de Armas).




Rian Johnson's crack at a murder mystery is undoubtedly some of the best fun you'll have at the cinema in 2019. It takes the classic whodunnit and dials things up to eleven. Thanks to a superb script and some fantastic performances - even Christopher Plummer gets time to shine through flashbacks - Johnson's take on the world-class detective is introduced to what is possibly the world's most dysfunctional family, a myriad bundle of mysteries even without Harlan's death. They're the type of people that many would try to avoid, especially in public. But in this case, watching them go at each other is pure joy. As they lie, cheat and stab each other in the back, you will inevitably despise them, and you'll love every second of it!




Seeing this all play out through Marta's eyes provides a very candid look at the family and their situation. Ana de Armas is the perfect choice for Marta, she brings a sense of innocence and sincerity to the role. But a mystery would be nothing without someone to solve it, and Daniel Craig is superb as the eccentric Blanc - like all great detectives, you never really know what he's thinking. He nails all of the quirky behaviours - what he refers to as his "process" - watch out for a scene where he sings along to music in the car. And that southern accent, well he's almost literally chewing the scenery, and looks to be loving every minute of it! De Armas and Craig work really well together, there's a kind of awkward chemistry between them. It'll be interesting to see them collaborate again on "No Time To Die", where they will both be playing wildly different characters.




Johnson masterfully choreographs all this madness - most of which takes place in this grand house filled with souvenirs and trinkets from Harlan's novels. Drawing inspiration from a wide variety of murder mystery styles, he is able to put his own unique spin on the genre. Even with all of the family drama, Knives Out ticks along at a reasonably fast - but steady - pace. It gives the movie a sense of urgency, of the pressure that all these characters are under, and the tension it causes between them. You are drawn into their world, and the movie doesn't let go until it's over. Johnson is even clever to make those outside the family (Marta, Blanc, the cops, even the audience) feel like outsiders, like they're just visiting that world. It is a shame then that with pretty much all of the investigating falling to Blanc, the cops (Lakeith Stanfield, Noah Segan) aren't really left with much to do other than facilitate him. That said, could Knives Out be the first of a new series following the investigations of Benoit Blanc? If that is the case, it can only work with Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig's continued involvement.




Rian Johnson delivers a tense and exciting whodunnit with Knives Out. If the mystery doesn't draw you in, the deliciously self-centred characters will. But will we see more of the great Benoit Blanc? I certainly hope so!


9.5/10




What did you think of Knives Out? Would you like to see more mysteries for Benoit Blanc to solve? Leave a comment below or find us on Facebook and Twitter. You can also email us at moviemoustache@gmail.com

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Suicide Squad | Average Guy Movie Review

A new batch of convicts - as well as a few originals - are under the thumb of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), who's once again offering years off their prison sentences in return for completing a few jobs for Uncle Sam. This time she's sending them to the island nation of Corto Maltese. There they must infiltrate the capital and destroy a top secret research facility. Sounds easy enough. Task Force X is back, and with James Gunn at the helm things are madder than ever! The Guardians of the Galaxy  director has taken what David Ayer started and blown the roof off of it. But he has done so in a way that is respectful of what has gone before. Fans of the original (of which there are apparently few) will have no trouble going from  Suicide Squad  to The Suicide Squad . And yet, the new movie stands quite happily on it's own two feet. Rather than making them drastically different, the returning characters simply feel like they have grown a bit. Well, maybe not grown, but adapted, t

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Average Guy Movie Review

For ten years Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) - the son of The Mandarin (Tony Leung), keeper of the Ten Rings - has been running from his past, trying to escape the life his father intended for him. Unfortunately that past has now caught up with him, endangering the lives of those he cares about. Now he must return home, face his father and learn the secrets of his family. If there's one thing that Marvel is good at, it's taking lesser known comic book characters and turning them into major players. Clearly they haven't lost their touch because Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings  is everything fans love about the MCU and so much more. Whilst keeping things very much rooted in this world, Destin Daniel Cretton has carved out a new piece of the epic film franchise - one steeped in asian culture and mythology - to bring us Marvel's first Asian superhero.  It seems insane to think that just a few years ago Simu Liu tweeted Marvel about Shang-Chi, and now he's playing the ne

Operation Market Garden Anniversary 2016

The John Frost Bridge at Arnhem (from my visit in 2013) 72 years ago today, Allied troops set off on what could be one of the boldest missions of World War 2, Operation Market Garden. Developed by Field Marshall Montgomery, the plan was to advance into Nazi occupied Holland and develop a bridgehead over the River Rhine into Germany. There were two parts to the operation: Market (Airborne) Garden (Ground Forces) In what was the largest airborne operation of the war, paratroopers and glider troops had the job of securing bridges at Eindhoven (US 101st Airborne), Nijmegen (US 82nd Airborne) and Arnhem (British 1st Airborne). The ground forces, made up of the British XXX Corp had to advance up a single highway through Holland, linking up with the airborne forces as they went. In honour of the anniversary of Operation Market Garden we look back at some of the movies and TV Shows that tell the story of the Allies ill-fated attempt to end the war by Christmas 1944. A Bridge Too Far