A sunny Greek island, a murder mystery party among reunited friends – what could go wrong? In Rian Johnson’s new film Glass Onion, plenty.

In Glass Onion, an eccentric Tech Billionaire named Miles Bron invites some of his closest friends for an exotic getaway. Bron hosts these get-togethers annually, and his latest entertainment innovation is a murder mystery. These friends – a governor, a top inventor, a model, a right-wing streamer, and a former business partner – show up expecting a weekend in paradise, hunting for clues. They’re surprised to see famous detective Benoit Blanc on the scene, but quickly engage with the planned activities. But when a guest is murdered unexpectedly, and the police can’t arrive till morning, it’s up to Blanc to solve the case.

Johnson here perfects the formula that he first created in Knives Out. There’s a great mystery, and an intriguing exploration of power. Johnson’s love of the mystery genre shines through in every line and scene. The film has brains and heart – and it’s a ton of fun.

The mechanics of mystery

There’s a real art to setting up a mystery story. The best mysteries, in my opinion, play completely fair: they set up all the clues in plain sight, and give you a fair chance to solve alongside the detective. Reading (or watching) a good mystery feels like solving many little, nested puzzles that may lead you to a bigger solution. If, at the end, you’re surprised by the result – the mystery simply outsmarted you. Either way, it’s a totally enjoyable experience – you should never feel cheated.

It’s a hard balance to get right: too many clues leave the puzzle too easy to solve; too few (or too many distractions) and thing feels unfair. For some viewers of Knives Out, Johnson leaned too hard into the surprise ending. In Glass Onion, he’s come closer to the right formula. Johnson clues up puzzles and answers them with enough time to take your own guess at each. Clues are scattered everywhere – in bits of dialogue, in metaphors, in set pieces – and each reveal ties to multiple dropped hints.(Johnson has gotten particularly good with his Chekhov’s guns here.) When leaving the theater, I wanted to walk in and re-watch the film to savor all the additional clues I’d overlooked – the true sign of a great puzzle.

A breakdown of power and “disruption”

While watching Glass Onion, it’d clear how much Johnson loves classic mysteries. The premise recalls a classic “tropical mystery” where rich friends reunite before a murder ruins the party. Johnson cites Evil Under the Sun and The Last of Sheila as particular inspirations. I think it also resembles Death on the Nile, where the ensemble meets in Egypt to mooch off a young heiress.

Glass Onion may start out similarly to its Golden Age predecessors: lavish shots of island mansions and gorgeous clothes. But Johnson’s updated the classic formula for the modern day. Miles Bron is clearly not genuinely prodigious; he’s full of sound and fury, as best represented by the absolutely ludicrous ways he chooses to spend his money. (Throwaway gags include a luggage-toting robot dog and an automated garden warning.) Yet he holds many powerful “disruptors” in his thrall. Each of the character introductions include a financial tie between Big Tech Miles and his influential “friends”, and it’s clear they all depend on him. As the story winds on, we see exactly how far each will go to uphold their status.

If Knives Out lampooned the old order via the Thrombleys, Glass Onion shows that the new order isn’t necessarily better. It’s notable that Bron’s friend-group represents modern power archetypes: the government, inventors / innovators, entertainment, and streaming right-wing influencers. Their interactions serve as a microcosm of the modern world – particularly its relationship to Big Tech. (Even the premise – an island party, hosted by a tech billionaire for his rich and powerful friends in Peak Pandemic – reflects numerous instances of entitled behaviors from real-life analogues of each character.) In Glass Onion, Johnson reflects on the flow of power through our society – and the type and amount of change required to disrupt it.

This is also, importantly, a ton of fun

The last section may make this seem like Glass Onion is A Bit Pretentious. It certainly has the potential to come off as a bit heavy-handed. But instead, the movie is so much fun – it knows when it’s ridiculous, and loves those moments as well.

The cast is jam-packed, and you can tell everyone had a great time with the film. (Seems hard not to have fun filming on a Greek Island in the summer.) Daniel Craig plays Benoit Blanc with a refreshing amount of self-awareness. Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Edward Norton give enjoyable performances that highlight the silliness of their positions. Dave Bautista and Kate Hudson ham it up on just the right side of caricature for their roles as right-wing streamer and has-been model, respectively. And Janelle Monáe gives a stellar performance as Miles Bron’s former partner, who surprises everyone with her presence.

Johnson also brings the same humor to Glass Onion that he did to Knives Out. None of the characters get taken too seriously: the script is full of winks and nods that highlight character foibles (and make each seem real). There are also plenty of visual gags and references (see: robot luggage dog). In the theater I watched the movie in, the audience literally laughed out loud so many times I lost count.

And of course, the movie is beautiful. It’s shot in summer Greece, and Miles Bron’s mansion is chock-full is picturesque backdrops. The shots are cinematic and the soundtrack is great. If you get the chance, I highly recommend watching this one in theaters, to get the full Golden Age experience. The giant screen amplifies the lavishness, the adventurousness, and the fun.

Some final thoughts (and rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

As an avid murder mystery fan, I’ve been looking forward to Glass Onion since it was first announced. It did not disappoint. Johnson delivers on all the promise from Knives Out, and improves on both the mystery and the thematic clarity. (In fact, Miles Bron’s character is weirdly reminiscent of multiple Big Tech Billionaires making headlines right now – the timing is astounding.) Glass Onion is of the moment, a perfect update to the Golden Age tropical vacation mystery.

I also love that these films (both Knives Out and Glass Onion) are totally original. As much as I love adaptations of the classics, it’s great to see new energy and life in the mystery film space. Too often, mystery films are either adaptations, or high-drama escapades. Glass Onion is a particularly refreshing, lighthearted take on the genre.

Best of all, Glass Onion operates on multiple levels. If you love classic mysteries, you will absolutely enjoy this film. But there are so many entry points to its enjoyment – the humor, the adventure – that you don’t have to love mysteries to love Glass Onion. It’s crime-solving fun for everyone – a true, five-star masterpiece.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is in theaters now until November 30, and then will premiere on Netflix on December 23.