Following the 2019 release of his box office megahit Knives Out, writer/director Rian Johnson signed a deal with Netflix to produce the next two films in this series. Glass Onion released in 2022 in a few thousand theaters for a week before it ultimately went to Netflix a few weeks later. By all accounted metrics (Netflix doesn’t report box office numbers) it did quite well and could/should have stayed in theaters longer. His latest Benoit Blanc mystery, Wake Up Dead Man, is unfortunately receiving an even more muted rollout. If Johnson decides to make another one of these, I’m hoping he’ll sign a deal with someone other than Netflix. Because the Knives Out mysteries hit every time and they deserve the theatrical experience. Wake Up Dead Man might be the best one yet.

Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is tapped to investigate a murder at Msgr. Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin)‘s church. Each member of his devoted congregation has something to hide, and initial suspicions are pointed at young priest Jud (Josh O’Connor). But it really could have been anybody.

I’m choosing to be purposely vague with plot and character details, because as was the case with the two previous Knives Out mysteries, much of the fun here is in the unexpected. I have gone into all three of these movies not really knowing what I was getting, and that’s the best way to experience one of them. However, I kept thinking about the star-studded 1970’s disaster movie, or the awful holiday themed Gary Marshall romantic comedies of the early 2010s. Simply throwing a bunch of big names into a room does not mean the film is going to give the cast material worthy of them. And yet, Rian Johnson has found a way to consistently get around that problem. All three Knives Out mysteries are unpredictable, wildly entertaining, darkly funny and perhaps most importantly, they give every member of the starry ensemble memorable moments to shine.

Daniel Craig is perpetually having the time of his life in this role, and I think he needs to keep making these films with Rian Johnson until one of them dies. They are one of this generation’s definitive actor/filmmaker duos, and at this point it’s very unlikely they’re going to get it wrong. And Johnson continues to throw the Benoit Blanc character in unexpected directions, challenging his suspicions and preconceived ideas.

There are some throughlines and recurring themes in these films, most notably we have one character Blanc is following as our de facto protagonist, although anyone in this group could be responsible for the central crime. In Wake Up Dead Man, that’s Josh O’Connor’s Jud, a young priest who’s having a crisis of faith. O’Connor can’t help but be instantly charismatic and likable, and he’s consistently made interesting choices as an actor since I first saw him back in 2017’s God’s Own Country. He’s probably one of my favorite actors working today and there are plenty of reasons why in this performance.

And I don’t want to say much about what every other actor is doing here, because the sense of any of these people potentially being the culprit is what keeps Wake Up Dead Man exciting for its almost two and a half hour runtime. But I’ll just say our supporting cast MVPs here are Glenn Close (no surprise there), Kerry Washington and Bridgett Everett, who is really only in one scene, but finds a way to make it one of the film’s most crucial moments. This entire ensemble seems to be having a blast, and it’s easy to see why such a talented group of actors is intrigued whenever Johnson is putting one of these films together. Everyone could be a suspect, so everyone is kind of playing a villain, and there’s plenty of fun to be had with that as an actor.

Cinematographer Steve Yedlin, who has worked with Johnson before, returns here and as was the case with Knives Out and Glass Onion, there’s a lot of playfulness and personality in the camerawork. Rich Heinrichs, who worked on Glass Onion but not Knives Out, is the production designer and there are plenty of exciting details in the look of this church. The film definitely has a darker, moodier sensibility than the sunny, bright, island-set Glass Onion and that’s no accident. Nathan Johnson, who composed the score for our two previous films also returns here, and there are a lot of recurring motifs and flourishes in the music in these films, which I always enjoy as well.

I give Rian Johnson a lot of credit for resisting the urge to simply make the same film over and over again in this series. There are recurring beats we hit each time, but each film seems to be doing something noticeably different from the last. All three films are kind of about how wealth corrupts people and turns people you trust and love into people you don’t even know. Knives Out is about a fractured and wealthy family that unravels after one of them is murdered. Glass Onion is about a group of very wealthy friends who begin to realize that no one here is really a friend. And Wake Up Dead Man is about the futility of faith, and how beliefs and values that one might hold dear can be crumbled by the situation surrounding them. It’s not so much about how religion can corrupt people, and more about the challenges one can face when they actually try to practice what they preach. And if that isn’t a perfect film for the holiday season, I don’t know what is.

Rian Johnson continues to outdo himself with Wake Up Dead Man, and if he stopped right now, he would have a near-perfect trilogy on his hands, but I do hope he gets to make more of these films. Like I was saying, Johnson and Craig are one of modern cinema’s best actor/director duos and it would seem foolish to stop now. Johnson is particularly adept at avoiding your usual sequel traps, and is incredibly skilled at keeping the viewer on their toes. I’ve given up trying to predict what’s going to happen in these movies, because it’s a waste of time and I’m never right. However, I always look forward to rewatching these films because there are always plenty of fascinating details I missed the first time. So, in that regard I guess it’s a good thing I’ll just be able to watch this on Netflix. But if a deal is struck for more Knives Out films, I sincerely hope Johnson will find a way to guarantee the films real theatrical releases. Because in this time where streaming is dominating and movie theaters are more vulnerable than ever, a communal experience provided by a film like this can be a powerful reminder why we love going to the movies.