The art of the renowned detective has somewhat been lost in feature films, and Benoit Blanc is here to bring it back. One of Daniel Craig’s best characters debuted in Rian Johnson’s 2019 film, <em>Knives Out</em>. The Last Jedi director brought new life to the whodunit genre in a movie that is equal parts humorous and intricate. The first Knives Out film was a massive success, and although it could have been a one-off, it opened up the world of the extended Benoit Blanc universe.
Johnson has since developed two more Knives Out mysteries, both with dramatically different setups from the original. This franchise proves that fans are hungry for more original content. All it takes is a beloved character and a love of murder.
‘Knives Out’ Is a Fresh Take on the Whodunit Formula
Fans of Rian Johnson know that the director can spin a good yarn. Before Star Wars, the filmmaker took on the genre of film noir in his early teen mystery, Brick. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt in an early film role, the movie took teen drama to new heights in a story that hit on all the hallmarks of film noir. This was just the beginning of Johnson’s genius with genre, which he would develop into one of the best mystery franchises of all time.
The Knives Out series is so successful not just because of the joy that Johnson brings in every one of these stories, but also because of how fresh and genuinely shocking these mysteries can be. The three films, Knives Out, <em>Glass Onion</em>, and Wake Up, Dead Man, all feature fascinating and fleshed-out characters, and all say something important about the world. Johnson puts out these films faster than most television series release seasons, and never once does it feel forced. In fact, each subsequent film offers something different, keeping the mysteries intriguing and fresh.
Johnson injected love of the murder mystery into the first Knives Out, a film about the apparent suicide of renowned mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). As the family gathers to mourn the passing of the patriarch, the esteemed Benoit Blanc arrives to investigate what he believes to be murder. His suspicions are correct, but Johnson doesn’t leave it at that. The exact way Harlan was murdered is twisty and engaging as the director critiques the lives of the comfortable and affluent.
This theme crops up again in Glass Onion, when Blanc travels to an island where a reunion of exceedingly rich entrepreneurs turns violent. Wake Up, Dead Man, is arguably the most sensitive of the three and has a perspective that many modern films don’t. Josh O’Connor stars as a former boxer turned priest who becomes the prime suspect for the murder of a fellow priest in a remote village. When the world needed it most, Johnson delivered a story about empathy, showing all sides of religion.
Each one of these films has something to say, but of course, they are connected through Daniel Craig’s charisma as Blanc. These stories have serious themes about class and culture, but they would be nothing without Craig playing against type as the humorous southern detective. The Knives Out series has survived for so long because Blanc can travel from mystery to mystery, seemingly forever. While there are only three films out now, these stories are so good that fans would likely never stop watching them.
