Review of Knives Out (2019) by Theraggedflygon — 22 Jan 2020

Knives Out is a well directed movie that falls short of being a masterpiece because it thinks it is more clever than it is. This modern take on the class whodunit genre is refreshing and risky. By playing with a well established format, Johnson is able to create a film that kept me interested and entertained throughout. That is not to say that this a film for everyone. Members of the party I saw this film with found it to be inferior to past works in the genre.

Where the film falls short for me is, as mentioned above, this movie thinks that it is very clever when in reality, it is not nearly as clever as it thinks it is. The twists are a bit predictable and that made for an underwhelming third act. Johnson's directing is for the most part great, but at times it feels like the film is giving the audience too many clues as to what is going on exactly.

The biggest strength of this movie is its acting. Its ensemble cast makes for several great performances. Craig's and de Armas' in particular stand out to me. Johnson's script is serious when it needs to be while at the same time having comical elements that do not feel out of place. Having been disappointed by the way humor was implemented into Johnson's last film, The Last Jedi, I was very pleased to see a far more effective use of it in this film.

Overall, I found Knives Out to be a very entertaining mystery film that was not afraid to play with the format of the class whodunit. The twists are a bit too obvious and the movie is not nearly as clever as it seems to think it is, but both of those factors did little to true damper by enjoyment of this film. While certain moviegoers may have problems with the writing or directing of this film, I would recommend it on the strength of the acting alone.