Knives Out (2019) Review

"This is a twisted web."
-Benoit Blanc



After successful mystery author, Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), apparently commits suicide, private detective, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is hired to take a closer look.  What he discovers is a hornet's nest of a family where everyone had a motive to kill Harlan and no one is innocent.


What Works:

Daniel Craig is easily the best part of the film.  I'm a big James Bond fan, so it's pretty odd for me to see him in this role.  His accent is absurd, but he fully commits and gives us a great character.  I would love to see a series of films with Benoit Blanc solving more cases.

Chris Evans is another stand out.  It's unusual to see Captain America play such a jackass.  Evans does a great job here and has some really funny and intense moments.  He's a much more complex character than he seems.

Ana de Armas is great as our main protagonist, Marta.  She's fascinating character in a movie like this due to her inability to lie without puking.  It's a fantastic trait for our main character.  She's seemingly the one honest person in a house full of liars.

The story is very well written and is engaging and entertaining the entire way through.  I was fully invested in this story and it leads us to a very satisfying conclusion.

Finally, this Knives Out is a homage to whodunits of the past and I love how much it embraces this identity.  It's a throwback movie and it knows it.  The filmmakers love of this type of movie is evident and you can really feel the passion that went into this project.


What Sucks:

My only complaint with the film is that I figured out what happened about a half hour into the movie.  I was hoping there would be an additional twist to catch me off guard, but that didn't happen.  Now, nobody else I've talked to about the film guessed the ending, so it might just be me.  Maybe I should become a detective.



Verdict:

Knives Out is a very fun film that is an excellent homage to whodunits of the past, while still giving us an interesting story and excellent performances.  Without a doubt, this movie has got it going on.

 9/10: Great  

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