Oh the joy of a good whodunit!

Rating: 9/10 (11 January 2020)

Murder mystery novels are still a thing, thankfully, but whodunit movies are not as common and when one has a cast such as 'Knives Out', what a joy it is for movie enthusiasts. The iconic Agatha Christie would have smiled in approval, I think, at this work from Rian Johnson. Johnson is not a newbie at this and it took 'Knives Out' for me to notice. He wrote three episodes of the award winning series 'Breaking Bad', in case you didn't know, and his directorial work here was on the mark.
The victim Harlan Thrombey, played by the master actor Christopher Plummer, pops up all through the movie as we observe the customary flashbacks of the clues we are teased with. As with all 'whodunit' works, there are many characters for you to speculate did the deed of killing Harlan. Wait, was Harlan even murdered? Ah! Yes, this whodunit, as many murder mysteries tend to incorporate, has the added mystery factor 'Is it or is it not a murder'? I won't say more in case you haven't seen the movie.
There is a full cast of characters, played by many actors we are most familiar with, an added positive for me, and these characters all seem to have possible motive for causing Harlan's demise. The movie walks you through the Thrombey family intricate relationships and the family business of course. It is a web artfully woven to keep you captivated from beginning to the end. The writer director clearly demonstrates his knowledge of movie making in the way he introduces Benoit Blanc to the viewing audience; Blanc, played by Daniel Craig was a pleasure to watch. His character's introduction was nothing short of brilliant and early into the movie the mood is set for you to start placing your bets on who done it!
But you will lose your bet for sure, no matter what; it's a bet you won't mind losing. Any good mystery movie should not make it easy for the viewer to figure out the movie's climax. So, you won't, and that's why this is such a fun movie.