With so much hype surrounding this movie, obviously I was highly anticipating it especially since I liked the first movie a lot. So once it was released in Netflix yesterday, I immediately see it the first chance I got. Without further ado, here is more on the film.
Brief Story Line
During the pandemic, famous detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig - No Time to Die, The Golden Compass etc) was getting crazy due to lock down and lack of activity. Until he got invitation to a gathering held by billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton - Motherless Brooklyn, The Incredible Hulk etc) in his private island in Greece. Along with Benoit, there were also other invitees who were Miles' old friends such as governor Claire (Kathryn Hahn - Wandavision TV series, Hotel Transylvania: Transformation etc), scientist Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr. - Murder on the Orient Express, Hamilton etc), supermodel Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson - Deepwater Horizon, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days etc) with her personal assistant Peg (Jessica Henwick - The Matrix Resurrections, Underwater etc) and streamer Duke (Dave Bautista - Dune, Stuber etc) with his girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline - Outer Banks TV series etc).
Things became quite awkward though when Andi (Janelle Monae - Ugly Dolls etc) the former partner of Miles also appeared. But the worst of it all was when someone in the group was killed and Benoit had to use his wit and intelligence to solve it before there was another victim.
So how would the story conclude? You could find out in this movie.
End of Brief Story Line
I said above that I really liked Knives Out which to me was an amazing modern day whodunit murder mystery movie and was really well crafted. So when I heard news they were making a second movie based on the character Benoit Blanc, I was really looking forward to it. It did not play in the Indonesian cinemas as the rights was bought by Netflix who produced this movie and chose to only have limited theatrical release in US. Fortunately for Netflix subscribers like me and my wife, we have the chance to watch it via streaming.
The early part of the movie was the introduction of the people who would be involved in this story. This was where the comedy was quite strong as I could chuckled in few of the scenes which made my wife confused a bit (she was watching other movie while I was seeing this, but I would recommend her to watch this soon). However, these scenes could feel a bit long for audience if you are not patient enough. This felt like the Agatha Christie's stories where almost half of it was focused on the characters instead of the investigation.
After the murder happened, the movie like suddenly sprang to life and the pace became quite fast. What really amazed me was the story telling subsequently where we were given twists after twists that I do not think people could have guessed. And then came the big reveal that was truly interesting as I failed to guess the culprit. It was a bit disappointing on my part as usually I could have guessed even if I might not know the real motive. I am not saying that is bad on the movie. In fact it meant that the deceptions created by the movie makers were brilliant enough that I got it wrong.
Like in the first movie, this one was also written and directed by Rian Johnson (The Brothers Bloom, Brick etc). His work here was really admirable as he managed to make such an interesting mystery nicely blended with dark comedy. Daniel Craig, still did a great job portraying Benoit Blanc. I also liked Edward Norton's performance who I thought was really perfect as this billionaire. Other cast were also wonderful like Kate Hudson very suitable as the fashionista and even Dave Bautista was fun to see too. Oh, there were also other actors and actresses in minor role or cameo. I better let you see if you recognized them rather than I spoiled them here.
Overall this was an entertaining murder mystery movie where we would be engaged in the story of how it was done and the reasons to do it. The retelling of everything that occurred prior to the events that led to the murder and also how it happened was the highlight. The ending was something that was unorthodox. At first I was surprised by it, but then I realized that it was a pleasing enough conclusion. It might not have been too well received for those who prefer a mainstream ending, but for me this was pretty satisfying. So if you like the original movie and Benoit Blanc character with his characteristic of mystery solving, then surely you would like this too. On a personal note though, the first movie might be slightly better as it was continuously engaging from start to finish, while in here there were times where I felt it not entirely full of enjoyable moments.
Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars
