“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”, was released on Netflix, Dec. 23. The movie quickly became very popular, shooting to the #1 spot on Netflix’s most popular movies. Following in the footsteps of the first movie, it quickly got widespread critical acclaim, getting a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. But what is it about? And is it worth watching?

“Glass Onion” is a sequel to “Knives Out”, released in 2019. Unlike most sequels, however, it doesn’t follow the entire cast of characters in a second story, just the main character, Benoit Blanc. It is similar to the first movie in the aspect that it is also a murder mystery, but in an entirely different location. This time the mystery takes place on a beautiful private island off the coast of Greece. 

Blanc is invited to this private island by genius billionaire Miles Bron (based on Elon Musk) to join his annual birthday party with Bron’s five friends. He is invited to play a murder mystery game set up by Bron, but he quickly discovers that this meeting is much more than a game. Not to spoil too much of the plot, but viewers can expect plenty of  murder, mystery, and deception. 

“Glass Onion” certainly sounds interesting. But is it good?

Ian Marshall, a junior at State High, certainly thinks so. He rated the movie highly, saying “I thought it was very good” and that “Benoit Blanc is one of my favorite movie characters.” 

Although Marshall didn’t think the film was perfect, he rated it a 7.8 out of 10. He said he didn’t like “Glass Onion” as much as its predecessor, saying “I liked the aesthetics and plot of the first one more. The family dynamic plot resonated with me more than the rich friends one did.”

Another State High student who saw “Glass Onion” was Aubrey Okenefski, a junior. However, she did not rate it as highly as Marshall. 

Okenefski describes the movie as “alright”. She thought it was kinda predictable”. Like Marshall, also preferred the first movie, saying that it “was more interesting, and you didn’t know what was going to happen”. 

I thought Glass Onion was interesting and quite funny. I did unfortunately feel that it was a downgrade from the first movie, especially in its interactivity. 

In the first movie, I felt that if you were paying attention, you could predict key plot points. The final reveal d felt satisfying, as all the clues from earlier paid off. However, in “Glass Onion”, a lot of the key plot points are revealed randomly, with no prior clues as to what will happen. This feels less rewarding to someone who wanted the same experience as the first movie– trying to solve the mystery before Blanc. 

I realize many people don’t care about the interactive aspect, and just want a good movie to watch, in that case I would have to highly recommend “Glass Onion” (not before watching “Knives Out”).