Sometimes-fun but uneven murder mystery

Rating: 6/10 (30 November 2019)

This homage to Agatha Christie is Rian Johnson's first film since "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (the only other one of his films I have seen, which I thought was alright but not great.) I love Agatha Christie as well as the cast of this film, and was looking forward to an entertaining and darkly hilarious homage to classic murder mysteries. While the film has some laughs and moments of sharp writing that make it a somewhat entertaining diversion, it unfortunately feels less than the sum of its parts.
The initial setup is simple: a popular and acclaimed crime novelist is found dead, with a slit throat, right after celebrating his 85th birthday in his mansion. From there, anyone related to him could possibly be a suspect. The film's first act is really strong, with great production design of the Thrombley family mansion, a good score and clever use of musical cues, sufficient character development, and some snappy and well-paced writing. After that, though, things start to get rather uneven and anti-climactic. The acting is generally good, although none of the characters get much of a range. While there are pockets here and there of good dialogue, the film's numerous attempts at political and social satire feel very hollow and forced. There are a few recurring juvenile gags that get annoying after a while as well. Parts of the film are quite entertaining for sure, but overall I'm not certain how well it holds up in its entirety or whether it really lives up to the rave reviews it has received. 6/10