'Knives Out' Review

Knives Out is a 2019 murder mystery film written, produced and directed by Rian Johnson. The film stars Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer.

When a crime novelist dies just after his 85th birthday, an inquisitive detective arrives at his estate to investigate. He soon sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind the writer's untimely demise.

Knives Out is a film I was really looking forward to. Rian Johnson is a director I really like. Despite him recently being in the hotbox I've really enjoyed his films. I thought both Brick and Looper were amazing, so I was really looking forward too this one.

I have to say I loved it. It's a very well crafted murder mystery that was able to perfectly blend the witty comedy with the high tension of the mystery, but I thought the best thing it did was be interesting.

Even though some of the characters weren't the deepest, they were still very interesting. The murder itself was the most interesting and intriguing part of the film, even though they did make a decision halfway through that I didn't love. There was just so much mystery surrounding everything in the film. From the actual murder, to the characters and even the detective you just don't know what to believe. It also made you ask a lot of questions like why would this person lie, or why wouldn't this person lie.

The film was also crafted in a way that characters were presented one way before their shown in a completely different light. There were two sides to every character, and I loved it. This was honestly one of the most suspense and tense films I've seen in a while. It managed to be that tense while also being extremely entertaining.

This was a very fun film that was very funny. Most of the comedy worked for me, and the comedy rarely got in the way of the story. The comedy also never took me out of the film. It all felt very natural.

The script was also great, and it rewards you for paying attention. Small details became super important, and I loved it.

I only had one real problem with the film, and it was more of an in the moment problem. They decided to reveal a huge detail about halfway through the film, and it really destroyed a lot of the mystery they were building up. For a film that was so interesting I would've loved to see them draw it out a little more, but with that being said I actually loved the film after that. It wasn't as interesting, but it was really tense. It also made the ending gotcha moment that much more effective. So while I didn't love it I certainly didn't hate it.

Overall this film was great, and I loved it. Rian Johnson did an amazing job with the directing and writing. This was a very suspenseful and tense film that still managed to be extremely entertaining. I thought this was one of the funnest films of the year. Knives Out was an amazing film.

The acting was great, and with a cast like this it's exactly what you'd expect.

Daniel Craig was amazing. This was honestly one of my favorite roles from him. He gave a very entertaining and self aware performance. It was almost cartoonish, but in a good way especially with his Kentucky accent.

Anna de Armas was also really good. She's an actress I really like, but this was the first time I've really seen her in a starring role but honestly I couldn't tell. She gave a great performance, even with the pressure of having to work alongside so many other great actors.

Chris Evans though surprised me the most. He played a character that was the complete opposite of what I've come to expect from him, and he again was great.

Christopher Plummer is of course Christopher Plummer, and The rest of the cast was equally as good.

The story was excellent. The film opened up and immediately threw you into the story. Then we're introduced to the characters and both sides of they're stories. It immediately established this sense of uncertainty with almost everything. Your presented some things about the death and immediately know there's more to it. Your presented the characters and you can't decide if you trust them or not.

There was so much mystery within the fist ten or so minutes. Then the film just becomes so interesting. We start to learn about characters, then we get some great flashbacks but they never felt like exposition dumps. Another thing about the flashbacks was that it never felt like they were withholding information just to do it. The details they kept secret added more to the overall characters and story.

Halfway through the film they decided to reveal a huge detail, and I didn't love it. The film was just doing so well with the mystery and suspense. I wish they would've rode it out just a little longer. After this the film also had a bit of a tonal shift. It went from a murder mystery who done it to a more traditional thriller, but honestly I thought they handled it very well especially the tension.

They spent the first half of the film kinda building up a character, and it really paid out during the second half of the film. Tension wise it was great, and it made the ending even better.

It also added in some small details here and there that came back around in the end, and I loved it.

Overall even with that one problem I kinda had the story still managed to be great.

Overall Knives Out was an excellent film. Great writing and directing from Rian Johnson added with the stellar cast and just an amazing story made this film extremely fun to watch.

This was without a doubt one of the most entering film's I've seen all year, and it truly was amazing.