I didn't know what to expect, and I came out thoroughly happy and amused.

Rating: 10/10 (12 December 2019)

Knives Out is Rian Johnson's latest feature-film and this film shows that the guy has a real knack for twisty storytelling and that he's a multi-genre man of his trade. Yes the guy directed The Last Jedi, which has adversely affected some people's perceptions of this movie, but this film is a totally different beast of an experience. And I'd say this film's easily better than The Last Jedi.
Knives Out follows the story of mystery-author Harlan Thrombey's death and how The Thrombey Family deals with the fallout of the chaos: and through this set-up we get the best Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot-inspired character in a long while: Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig. The film's something of a miracle: it's a whodunit story with an all-star ensemble of Hollywood actors and it's NOT a sequel or adaptation of a pre-existing work from Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle, though you can definitely feel their influence in the highly complex and intellectual nature of their stories in Knives Out.
This film's got super-sleuth galore in its cast of characters and writing, and it's got some truly fantastic cinematography to go with it. It's so well directed, thought-out and realized that it's easily one of 2019's most daring cinematic outings; it shows that the British aren't alone in doing great whodunits, and there's plenty of variety to work with in crime fiction in today's world.
Knives Out is pretty damn solid cinema and an achievement for Rian Johnson. It's great, especially on the big screen.