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Glass Onion | Dumb, Rich People

  • Writer: Forgotten Cinema
    Forgotten Cinema
  • Dec 11
  • 2 min read
Dinner Party in the Glass Onion

As part of our ongoing Knives Out Lead Up Series, we revisit Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), Rian Johnson’s star-studded sequel to his hit whodunit.


But unlike our enthusiastic response to Knives Out (2019), this episode of Forgotten Cinema: Lead Up takes a deeper, more critical look at why Glass Onion doesn’t quite hold together and why the film continues to divide audiences.


Butler’s Perspective: Why Glass Onion Misses the Mark

For Butler, this rewatch confirmed his biggest takeaways: Glass Onion just doesn’t work. He breaks down why he believes Knives Out is the only Rian Johnson film he genuinely enjoys. His issues include:


  • Cartoonish, unlikable characters that feel exaggerated rather than grounded

  • Heavy-handed social commentary that distracts instead of deepening the narrative

  • A surprisingly thin mystery, where tension evaporates instead of building

  • A mid-film twist that falls flat, stopping the story instead of enriching it

  • A pandemic-era setting that already feels dated and gimmicky


To Butler, Glass Onion is a stylish but hollow mystery that sacrifices nuance for noise.



Field’s Take: Fun, Flashy… and Still Flawed

While Field enjoys Glass Onion more, possibly even more than Knives Out, he still acknowledges many of Butler’s criticisms. Field highlights:


  • A cast that’s fun to watch, even when the characters feel broad

  • A playful tone that makes the film entertaining but less structurally sound

  • Plot twists that seem clever on paper, but don’t always land

  • A mystery that lacks the tight construction of the first Benoit Blanc case


Field sees the movie’s charm but admits it doesn’t craft as strong a whodunit as the original Knives Out.


Where Glass Onion Works and Where It Falls Apart

In this Forgotten Cinema Lead Up episode, we also break down:


  • The strengths of Rian Johnson’s writing

  • The weaknesses of Glass Onion’s mystery structure

  • Daniel Craig’s evolving performance as Benoit Blanc

  • Why the satire feels louder but less meaningful

  • How the sequel sets the stage for Wake Up Dead Man


Does the sequel deepen the Benoit Blanc universe… or dilute it?




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