Fan favorite detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is back in director/writer Rian Johnson’s third outing into the witty, hilarious Knives Out franchise now housed by Netflix. This time around, we are sent to the most gothic location yet – a church – when Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) winds up dead, and Blanc is forced to figure out the culprit amongst an eccentric church flock. Boasting hilarious dialogue and excellent delivery from a stellar cast, Wake Up Dead Man may not hold the most intriguing mystery of the trilogy, but makes up for it with laugh-out-loud jokes, a stunning location and a killer cast.
The most exciting thing about the Knives Out trilogy is easily the talent in front of the camera. Every announcement of a new franchise addition sees fans flocking to social media to share their fan casts, and beaming with excitement when they’re announced. Following directly in Knives Out and Glass Onion’s footsteps, Wake Up Dead Man delivers a wonderful ensemble of Hollywood’s current favorites, all bringing something unique and notable to the franchise. Each installment has seen someone almost joining forces with Detective Blanc, someone who knows the location and the suspects better than him. This time around it’s Josh O’Connor (Challengers) as young priest Jud Duplenticy – he steals the entire movie. Hilarious, extravagant and occasionally feisty, he ensures boxer-turned-priest Jud will become a franchise favorite. Also impressive is the always wonderful Glenn Close (Mars Attacks!) As Martha Delacroix, an extremely religious individual who has been with the church since she was a small girl. Also included in this installment’s stellar line-up is Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame), Mila Kunis (Black Swan), Jeremy Renner (Arrival), Kerry Washington (Django Unchained), Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers), Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla) and Daryl McCormack (Twisters). The entire ensemble are fabulous.
It goes without saying that Daniel Craig (Casino Royale) is again wonderful as Blanc, and he really gets to shine here due to how hilarious the script is. The Knives Out franchise has always been funny, but Wake Up Dead Man may boast the biggest laughs yet. From its bumbling, unapologetically out-of-touch characters to the cheekiness behind seeing a priest swear, it’s side-splitting from start to finish. Craig gets a lot more to play with here, including some interesting musings on religion, bringing something new to a character we’re already so familiar with. It’s hard to imagine anyone else in this role. Of course, it’s not only the talent in front of the camera that brings the movie to life, but behind it. Cleverly written and expertly directed by Rian Johnson, it fits perfectly alongside the other two movies whilst bringing a new gothic tone and slightly darker nature into the mix. The church setting is aesthetically beautiful, the cinematography working well to showcase its meticulous architecture. There are many memorable shots in here, some even receiving an audible reaction from the festival audience. In terms of filmmaking, it’s up there with the rest.
Whilst the mystery is certainly engaging, and the writing cleverly gives you clues and tidbits as you progress through the run-time, it’s the most clunky storyline so far. Though Josh O’Connor is more than capable of leading the movie with gusto, it takes a little too long for Benoit Blanc to enter the scene, and it’s not until about half an hour in that he winds up at the church to solve the mystery. Whilst this time is spent developing the story and new bunch of characters, you can still feel his absence. Furthermore, the supporting cast are more underutilized than we’ve seen in this trilogy so far. Talented players including Cailee Spaeny and Andrew Scott receive minimal screen-time and development, which is especially disappointing given that the prior two balanced the stacked cast so well. Though this can probably be explained, given that Knives Out follows a family and Glass Onion is set in an isolated location, it will still leave some viewers disappointed at their favorite supporting actors lack of screen-time. Though these issues are present, alongside a 15-20 minutes too long run-time, it doesn’t prevent Wake Up Dead Man from impressing. It may not be the best of the trilogy, but it certainly holds some of the best moments.Â
With an almost too talented to believe cast, beautiful cinematography, interesting discourse on religion and a lusciously darker take on the murder mystery, Wake Up Dead Man cements the Knives Out trilogy as an incredibly strong one. Fans will likely be delighted by this new addition, and audiences are bound to have a blast. The characters are interesting, the location stuns, the mystery entertains, but it’s worth the admission price alone to hear Benoit Blanc say ‘Scooby Dooby Doo’.
