Wake Up Dead Man

Review: This is a SPOILER FREE REVIEW My wife and I love a silly little murder mystery movie. And right now (or maybe ever), no one does the murder mysteries better than Rian Johsnon. His third entry in the Knives Out film series and he really keeps his momentum from the first two films. This one of course stars Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, though Blanc takes a little more of a backseat, personally I wouldn’t even call him the main character, but more on that later. The film also stars Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, & Thomas Haden Church in the usual stacked Knives Out ensemble. The movie was funny like it needed to be, had really clever writing (I’m sure we will see it nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars), and was also mad cinematic. A lot of really good shots using the church setting or wooded areas to frame the characters. The murder itself got a tad convoluted, but they managed to do the typical reveal at the end spelling everything out making it all make sense, taking us on a really effective rollercoaster of a journey. I’m excited to rewatch the film with the knowledge I now have to see if anything stands out. Rian Johnson really just needs to keep chugging these out.

High: The absolute high of this film is Josh O’Connor. And he is absolutely the main character of this movie. This is my favorite performance I’ve seen from him so far, and to me he’s one of the most interesting working actors right now. He is so incredibly charming as Father Jud Duplenticy and I’ll pretty confidently say this is my favorite performance from the franchise. He’s charming, funny, easy to root for, and I also really liked a lot of his takes on religion & faith. Finally, his chemistry with Craig as Blanc is the best that any character in any of these films has had.

Low: Should’ve been more accessible in theaters. Limited theater releases suck. If I would’ve tried really hard I could’ve probably seen it in theaters. But you shouldn’t have to try really hard to see a movie in theaters. It should be easy and accessible.

Rating: 9/10

I think my franchise ranking would go 1. Wake Up Dead Man, 2. Knives Out, 3. Glass Onion

Though they’re all pretty close together. I also struggle greatly from recency bias so keep tha tin mind with my rankings.