Film Review: Knives Out (2019)

~ beetleypete

This film was released to stellar reviews, both from critics, and many bloggers. I didn’t much like the sound of an ‘Agatha Christie-Style’ film that wasn’t actually written by Agatha, so waited until it arrived on TV (Film 4) to watch it. I finally got around to doing that last night.

Now I have to say that I rarely turn off a film before the end. I am usually happy to give even the most disappointing film its full running time, in the hope of being proved wrong. So if I tell you now that I turned this off after 45 minutes of its 2 hours+ running time, you are already getting some idea of how this review is going to go.

Let’s examine this in detail.

Stellar cast.

Daniel Craig.
Christopher Plummer.
Jamie Lee Curtis.
Chris Evans. (Who?)
Joseph Gordon Levitt.
Toni Collette.
Michael Shannon. (Great actor)
Don Johnson.
M. Emmet Walsh.
Frank Oz.
And many more…

Written and directed by Rian Johnson. (No relative, never heard of him. Have you heard of him?)

What could go wrong?

Well the first thing that could go wrong is that Daniel Craig plays an American private detective called ‘Benoit Blanc’. Someone decided that this actor, who is from England, should play Benoit with a ‘Southern American’ (as in New Orleans) accent. That fell at the first hurdle, so completely ruined the film. In the same way that Dick Van Dyke’s ‘London’ accent completely ruined ‘Mary Poppins’.

Daniel Craig might be an accomplished actor in many roles, but accents are not his forte. And a deep-south American accent was one too far for his talents.

After that, someone gets killed, everyone else except Benoit is a suspect, and after listening to his accent for 40+ minutes, I turned off this lamentable film.

That’s it. That’s the review. It is bloody awful, and if you liked it, I must have been watching a different film.
Here’s a trailer.

If you want to see Agatha Christie done properly, watch this instead.

52 thoughts on “Film Review: Knives Out (2019)”

  5. I see what you mean about Daniel Craig…completely wrong. Doesn’t even look American. Chris Evans is very popular here…Captain America or something like that. I only know through music videos I saw.

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    1. Beth (below) mentioned that Daniel Craig has more outings as Benoit. He really should be ashamed of taking the money for such a dire performance. At least I watched it for free on mainstream TV, and was able to turn it off.
      Thanks, David.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  11. Pete, we were so psyched to watch it as we love Agatha Christie type films, but this was DREADFUL! It was so camp and smug and full of itself….happy that people loved it, but not us!

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    1. Well we can’t all like the same things, Peggy. If they had used an American actor to play Benoit, I might have liked it. I was actually embarrassed for Daniel Craig. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  13. i actually did enjoy it, though it was a bit overwrought at times and daniel craig was an odd casting. i read that he was so well received in this role that they make another one with him in the same role cracking another case. not on par with the old christie’s, but entertaining

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  15. I would like to be able to believe that this film was a spoof, à la “Naked Gun” or “Clue” [what we call Cluedo] & others of that ilk, but I fear that isn’t the case here. I’m sure Daniel Craig had a whale of a time, happily banked the money and worried not a jot what it might do for his reputation. Stellar casts don’t always a stunning film make! 😉 Cheers, Jon.

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  16. Hi Pete! Poor you! :-)))) I cannot hear the various dialects in English, but in my own I am very sensitive when it is obviously not a natural accent so I get that.

    As I enjoyed this movie I will try to defend it a little. I think the reason why it did so quite well in the reviews is that it had been a long time since something was made with a new detective but keeping the old ‘rational’ way of finding out who did it. And the plot had at least a twist! (The final is bad, but right before it was the best part, but don’t watch it!!! It won’t be enough for you!) In other words, a new drop of water in a very dried out field! For myself, it felt entertaining in a relaxed way.

    Thanks for your review!!! You made me smile!!!!

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Helene. For me, the film failed in so many ways. Bad casting, not remotely funny, (if it was supposed to be) and lacking any real tension from the start. But if you enjoyed it, that’s fine. We can’t all like the same things. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. Yes, and it even made me smile!! I myself was totally disappointed with the latest Death on the Nile, and since you mention tension, they definitely don’t get the tension right. Best wishes!

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    1. For over two years, I have been reading rave reviews of this film. I have no idea what they were watching, Stevie. Daniel Craig was embarrassing to watch. I’m amazed I lasted 45 minutes.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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