When Rian Johnson released the original Knives Out back in 2019, it was a film that I quite enjoyed for its intriguing buildups, satisfying payoffs, compelling characters, politically and socially resonant themes, and an interesting enough story that held my interest from beginning to end. It is not a perfect or even excellent movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it is thoroughly enjoyable in terms of what it sets out to achieve. By the time we get to Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the third entry in this murder mystery series, these elements that I once found unique about that original movie have now become either absent, painfully forced, or predictable.
Yet again, there is a terrible murder that has been committed, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) shows up to solve the mystery, the main good person is exonerated after everyone suspects said good person is responsible in some way, the supporting characters are all greedy or selfish, and everyone either references or serves as a mouthpiece for topical political or social issues. I have seen all of this before, and while it may have been fun the first time, it becomes stale and repetitive the third time. The movie suffers from the “third entry in a franchise” problem, in which most of what happens feels obligatory and goes through the motions, ensuring that all the boxes on the list are checkmarked.
That said, I am willing to believe that this “same story, different location” approach Johnson has infused into this franchise is by design. After all, Agatha Christie’s own series of mystery novels, which were huge influences on Johnson when he was developing Knives Out, are structured similarly, in that her iconic detective characters of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple solve a new “case-of-the-week” in each novel they appear in. For better or worse, these detective novels have a reliably safe and consistent formula that they stick to, and it seems that Johnson is more than eager to replicate that structure for his own mystery whodunit series, albeit within a cinematic context. However, while I admire Johnson’s evident love and passion for the genre, I find it frustrating that this director, who has built his career around “subverting expectations,” would do the complete opposite of that and make such a familiar and stale whodunit murder mystery in Wake Up Dead Man.
I should preface that, despite my frustrations with Wake Up Dead Man, this is by no means a poorly made or boring film. At the end of the day, I had fun in the moment while watching this on the big screen with a large audience that clearly enjoyed every second of the film. I saw this with the right crowd in the best condition, and had I watched this film by myself at home on Netflix, my enjoyment might not have been as strong as it is. Additionally, like the previous Knives Out films, this is a good-looking movie with strong directing and solid performances from its large cast of A-list actors, the standouts being Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, and Josh O’Connor. O’Connor was the real highlight of the movie, as, similar to Ana de Armas from Knives Out and Janelle Monáe from Glass Onion, his character is essentially the protagonist of the film and the most interesting of the bunch.
The first 45 minutes of Wake Up Dead Man are utterly devoid of Benoit Blanc, so the focus is instead on O’Connor’s Reverend Jud Duplenticy, a young and enthusiastic priest who is relocated to a new Catholic church in upstate New York to assist its charismatic yet nihilistically short-tempered leader, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Right from the start, the two men are at odds with each other, as each priest has a different philosophy not just on how to run the church but also on the best way to preach to and connect with the congregation. This is by far the most interesting aspect of Wake Up Dead Man, as this angle about Catholicism and faith not only brings a refreshing perspective that helps this film stand out from the previous Knives Out entries, but it also leads to a lot of great back-and-forth banter between Jud and Wicks.
Wicks embodies this Trumpian perspective on life and religion, as evident in the specific language he uses, the topics he preaches about, and the clear authority he holds over the rest of the cast, except for Jud and Blanc. Nothing about Wicks’ character is particularly subtle, but it nonetheless does an effective job of making him a detestable yet threatening villain who oozes smarminess and arrogance. I loathed this man so much that it made me want to root for Jud even more, which wasn’t difficult to do as he was already a compelling protagonist that I liked and sympathized with. O’Connor does a great job portraying his character as an optimist driven by his desire to help others without making him a goody-two-shoes. He’s a man ridden with guilt from his past as a boxer, so his desire to be a preacher of positivity and compassion isn’t just about doing the right thing but also a chance at redemption. There’s so much nuance and intrigue in Jud, and I appreciate how much effort Johnson put into fleshing out his character.
The first 45 minutes of Wake Up Dead Man are so much fun that, for a while, I completely forgot I was watching a Knives Out detective story. Unfortunately, once the inevitable murder occurs, the franchise’s predictable staples rear their ugly heads as Blanc makes his entrance, reminding me that I am once again watching the same movie I saw two other times, but this time taking place at or near a church. That’s not to say that the rest of the film was unbearable or unengaging since, as I mentioned previously, I was sufficiently entertained from beginning to end. However, just like Glass Onion, this is ultimately a disposable movie that I’m unlikely to think about again after finishing this review.
If I am ever to be interested in more Knives Out movies, then Johnson needs to change up the structure or at least throw in more curveballs to keep me on my toes. If I can correctly predict one of this movie’s villains/killers about halfway through the film, then we have reached a point where this franchise is no longer refreshing and needs to change in some substantial way in the future.
Rating: 6/10
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