2019’s Knives Out was a throwback blast–a single-setting murder mystery full of celebrities in the tradition of old Agatha Christie whodunits–with some contemporary twists. It was clever, suspenseful, and hilarious, with just a touch a social commentary. This year, writer/director Rian Johnson and his southern gentleman detective, Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc, returned with Glass Onion, which follows a similar formula, but, in my opinion, does so just a little bit better.

This time, Blanc is invited to a murder mystery weekend with the “Disruptors,” a group of friends who are also well-connected, influential types. A governor (Katherine Hahn), a fashion mogul (Kate Hudson), a celebrity scientist (Leslie Odom, Jr.), and right-wing Twitch commentator (Dave Bautista) all join tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton, who bears a not-unintentional resemblance to Elon Musk) for a weekend on his private island at which his friends will solve his “murder.” Two complications quickly arise. First, another friend, Andi (Janelle Monae), who has had some kind of falling out with the rest of the group, is also invited. Second, we find out pretty quickly that Miles has not invited Blanc, but that someone else has made sure he will be there. As should be expected, the proceedings result in a real murder, or maybe two, for Benoit Blanc to solve. And, as he did in Knives Out, Johnson subverts the formula: at the halfway mark, we go back in time to find out that there has been another murder which has led to Blanc’s invitation. We then revisit the events of the first half of the movie having been let in on that secret, which allows us to reassess various actions and motives. We then circle back to the big reveal, which leads to a (literally) explosive climax.

I, for one, would be satisfied if Rian Johnson just made Benoit Blanc movies for the next several years (the third installment is underway). He has such a knack for twisty stories that feel like they have real stakes. Glass Onion is right at home next to Knives Out and his time-travel flick Looper in that regard. He also has a great sense of creating character. Despite only having two hours to tell the story, we get eight well-drawn characters whose motives we understand quite well as the mystery unwinds. Craig seems to have even more fun with Blanc this time. Early on, we see him riding out the pandemic depressed at the lack of having a mystery to solve. The invitation to get Blanc to the island turns him into a kid in a candy store; he is so desperate for a mystery that he ruins the murder mystery weekend by solving it in the first two minutes with unbridled joy and satisfaction. I cannot wait to see Craig further flesh out this character in future installments. As with Knives Out and Ana de Armas, we get a fantastic representative “everywoman” character from Janelle Monae that we get to root for. While I thought almost all of the performances were great, Monae’s is the cream of this crop. Throw in a clever spoof of contemporary tech celebrity culture, a treasure trove of great lines (“Birdie, please tell me you did not think sweatshops are where they make sweatpants”), a number of fun cameos (including Hugh Grant, Yo-Yo Ma, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the voice of the island’s hourly “dong”), and the best Mona Lisa gag ever, and you get one supreme entertainment.

As we reach the end of the year, I love the serious, Oscar-bait, artsy type of movies. But what I love more are movies that suck you into their world and just let you have a great time there. As long as Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig keep doing that, I will keep ranking them among the year’s best. And that’s exactly where “Glass Onion” belongs.

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” is streaming on Netflix.

(Photo credit: Netflix)