Knives Out

Let’s get this out of the way right at the start: go see this movie. Knives Out is fun and worth the time. It’s an old-fashioned mystery. Think Ellery Queen, Columbo and Clue, even Murder On The Orient Express. It’s filled with completely unlikeable and eccentric characters—none of whom would cause you to be upset if they were guilty. Except, of course, the one person who seems guilty is the outsider, and wholly likable.

The characters in Knives Out are over-the-top and near caricatures, which is fine. It fits the movie and genre. Even the sets are grossly overplayed caricatures and stuffed with ridiculousness. All of that makes the movie fun.

The plot is filled with multiple twists and turns and the ending isn’t just surprising; the scene is one of the funniest in the movie.

Rian Johnson wrote and directed the movie and the genre is a great fit for his style and perspective, though it has to be said, Star Wars: The Last Jedi wasn’t a bad movie. Johnson has great range. Considering that, he’d be the perfect guy to resurrect Firefly. Just saying.

The cast of Knives Out was wonderful. Ensemble movies usually only work if big stars are willing to spend less time being the center of attention, and that happened here. Daniel Craig and Chris Evans were good. Ana de Armas (new to me) was very good as Marta. Her role was completely different from the rest of the characters who were larger than life and over-the-top, as I mentioned earlier.

The movie was in its second week when I saw it. Still, the theater was full and the crowd enjoyed themselves. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen an old fashioned ‘who-dunnit’ but it was worth the wait. Knives Out was a fun watch.