Clunky 'tribute' to Agatha Christie

Rating: 5/10 (29 November 2019)

As the key character, the Latina nurse, Ana de Armas majorly under-acts whilst everybody else majorly overacts, particularly Don Johnson, Toni Colette and Jamie Lee Curtis. Chris Evans, the bad-boy grandson, seems to be channeling Rupert Everett.
Writer/director Rian Johnson is clearly torn between homage to Agatha Christie and a send-up. If you're going to spoof Christie, you need to spoof one of her grander whodunits like MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. KNIVES OUT, with its gothic-ish country house setting, is more reminiscent of THE MOUSTRAP, Dame Agatha at her creakiest. The Sondheim-scripted THE LAST OF SHEILA (1973) was not good, but it wasn't as clunky as this.
This is tosh - and really not 'quality' tosh. Mildly - very mildly - entertaining. After his Southern-fried piss-take on Poirot, it's gonna be hard to watch Daniel Craig back in his 007 tuxedo next year.