Knives Out (Rian Johnson/Daniel Craig film)
Discussion
Caught this last weekend. On casual observance it is a fun whodunnit with an all-star cast (Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collete, Chris Evans and Ana De Armas).
Daniel Craig puts on a great Southern American accent that has the desired effect of stopping the viewer thinking he's just James Bond and he channels his best Columbo as the suspicious detective. The rest are as brilliant as you would expect them to be, especially Plummer.
The plot though is a disappointment - the jeopardy is supposed to be in wondering if the person who is suspected of murder but we are led to believe killed by accident is going to take the rap, or perhaps intentionally killed and will get away with it, and just when you are expecting a twist there isn't one and the most likely bad guy turns out to be the real bad guy all along. Pretty weak writing from someone who thought he was achieving a double bluff but was just being unimaginative - a bit like his Star Wars effort.
When it ended I started thinking how did this film get made and dawned on me - this was clearly Disney's pay off for flicking off Rian Johnson from the three-film Star Wars contract they'd given him. They probably asked him what pet project he had and who he would like to have in it and they probably said - no problem, write a list of actors here and we'll get them, money no object.
The film isn't awful by any means, but it is an oddity for sure.
Daniel Craig puts on a great Southern American accent that has the desired effect of stopping the viewer thinking he's just James Bond and he channels his best Columbo as the suspicious detective. The rest are as brilliant as you would expect them to be, especially Plummer.
The plot though is a disappointment - the jeopardy is supposed to be in wondering if the person who is suspected of murder but we are led to believe killed by accident is going to take the rap, or perhaps intentionally killed and will get away with it, and just when you are expecting a twist there isn't one and the most likely bad guy turns out to be the real bad guy all along. Pretty weak writing from someone who thought he was achieving a double bluff but was just being unimaginative - a bit like his Star Wars effort.
When it ended I started thinking how did this film get made and dawned on me - this was clearly Disney's pay off for flicking off Rian Johnson from the three-film Star Wars contract they'd given him. They probably asked him what pet project he had and who he would like to have in it and they probably said - no problem, write a list of actors here and we'll get them, money no object.
The film isn't awful by any means, but it is an oddity for sure.
Edited by Evercross on Friday 24th January 11:43
It wasn't funded or distributed by Disney and it only cost the relatively small sum of $40m. Rian is extremely well respected in Hollywood and I'm sure would have had no issues whatsoever getting that cast, in fact most have said they want to come back and do more.
It's made $280m worldwide so far and despite being out for 2 months is still having the smallest week to week drop of any film at the box office, so word of mouth is obviously very strong.
It's made $280m worldwide so far and despite being out for 2 months is still having the smallest week to week drop of any film at the box office, so word of mouth is obviously very strong.
ukaskew said:
It wasn't funded or distributed by Disney and it only cost the relatively small sum of $40m.
Wheels within wheels, and with no need for expensive VFX it was always going to be a relatively cheap production leaving plenty over for the wages bill.ukaskew said:
Rian is extremely well respected in Hollywood and I'm sure would have had no issues whatsoever getting that cast, in fact most have said they want to come back and do more.
Yeah, I'm sure he's a great guy to work with. My point though is that (a) it is an unusual genre not entirely in keeping with what is currently regarded as being successful and (b) while I enjoyed it the weak link is the story which doesn't really cut-it as a proper whodunnit.Johnson might be well respected but he needs to lay-off the screenplay writing or get someone with a better head on them to polish it for him.
ukaskew said:
It's made $280m worldwide so far and despite being out for 2 months is still having the smallest week to week drop of any film at the box office, so word of mouth is obviously very strong.
I hope there's a sequel TBH as I quite like the idea of Craig finding himself in another franchise post-Bond as he plays a blinder in this movie, and the character has the potential to be the feature of a series (like the aforementioned Columbo, or Poirot).Edited by Evercross on Friday 24th January 13:47
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