Knives Out Review

With a cast as star-studded as "Knives Out", it would be a shame to miss this film opening weekend. I luckily got to see it in between Black Friday shopping. "Knives Out" delivered on many levels for me. However, I won't see this film to be extremely re-watchable.

Starting off with my positives, my biggest one is obviously the acting from everyone involved. Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas had the most screen time in "Knives Out". They didn't disappoint. de Armas, in particular, really surprised me. She was exceptional in the film, having to portray a wide range of emotions throughout the run time. Daniel Craig was also fantastic in the film. His vocal performance was interesting, to say the least; I loved it. The rest of the cast was also solid. Chris Evans and Toni Collette had some of the funniest lines in the film. Rian Johnson also surprised me throughout this film. Being that I strongly disliked what he did with "The Last Jedi", I was skeptical of him writing and directing "Knives Out". He didn't disappoint in the slightest; there's a lot of great writing in the film. "Knives Out" also has some great cinematography. Though there aren't any jaw-dropping shots, so many simple shots are framed and lit beautifully.

The story was an interesting take on the whodunit genre. I really like how it subverted expectations with certain plot elements. The cold open was extremely bold, but it worked in terms of the rest of the plot. The Drysdale family are terrible people, however, the fantastic acting and writing truly make the film work. I loved the dynamic between all of the family members.

I don't have a major negative with "Knives Out". Though I liked the story for the most part. Part of the third act didn't work for me. I won't get into spoilers, but there were certain aspects that I didn't like. The plot got a little convoluted explaining a certain twist. My other minor negative is that some characters feel severely underused. Jaeden Martell, better known for portraying Bill in IT, plays one of those said characters.

In conclusion, Rain Johnson crafted a great whodunit film. The great cast, paired with the great writing, truly made the film. Though I found the film to be slightly overrated by some, I found a lot of enjoyment out of "Knives Out".

8.5/10