'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery' A Review

Wake Up Dead Man is a murder mystery, the third in the Knives Out series. Father Jud(Josh O'Connor) a former boxer turned priest is reassigned to a rural parish after punching a rude deacon. He is under the thumb of megalomaniacal Monsignor Wicks(Josh Brolin) who unexpectedly and mysteriously dies. When all fingers point to Jud the gentlemen detective Benoit Blanc(Daniel Craig) is called in to solve the case.

O'Connor gives a good, if inconsistent, lead performance here. The problem with O'Connor is that we're simply seeing too much of him, this is the third(of four) major releases this year for him. Kind of getting into Glen Powell territory, any actor, no matter how talented, cannot saturate the market, be forced upon the collective cultural consciousness. Back to the movie, he provides heart and sincerity and provides a believable(and necessary) portrayal of a truly devote Christian calling out and acting against the corruptions of religion both in the abstract and the specific. But overall its just kind of flat, plateaus and doesn't change. Brolin is delicious as the heavy, with total commitment and total presence. Craig seems to be losing a bit of umph with Blanc and his ill-advised hair piece doesn't do him any favors. He's still compelling but at this juncture the character and the series is falling into diminishing returns. The supporting cast is all stacked with great actors and cool cameos, most notably Glenn Close who absolutely dominates, but a bit too much time is spent on plotting and a bit too little is spent on character so as great as the cast is, it doesn't particularly matter.

Visually the film is a huge improvement on the over-saturated, pastel repugnance of Glass Onion. The color pallet is more subdued, there's a sense of place and history, more-in-line with the original even though it is clearly shot in the UK and on soundstages. The score works, the costuming is great, the twists-and-turns of the plot entertain but it doesn't have that singular electricity of the original, doesn't have the emotional depth needed to make it work both as a great mystery and a great film. Writer/director Rian Johnson is inching closer and closer to Kenneth Branagh Poirot territory. Not bad, just pure entertainment.

Funny, engaging, with attempts at commentary which are admirable if not altogether successful, a little thin.

Currently in theaters and streaming on Netflix.

Rent It.