WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY (NETFLIX) (2025)

SYNOPSIS: Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) returns for his most dangerous case yet in the third and darkest chapter of Rian Johnson’s murder mystery opus.

MOVIE REVIEW:

The Knives Out mystery thriller crime series has proven that Rian Johnson should steer clear of anything that has to do with Star Wars and instead focus on telling his own original stories and making his own movies.

In this third instalment, private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is summoned by police chief Geraldine (Mila Kunis) to the small town of Chimney Rock after a Monsignor (Josh Brolin) is murdered under mysterious circumstances. The prime suspect is Father Jud (Josh O’Connor), a young priest and former boxer who can’t seem to align with the vision and ideas of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks.

Wicks’ small group of faithful followers including his right-hand woman Martha (Glenn Close), Dr Nat (Jeremy Renner), Vera (Kerry Washington), the town’s lawyer, her illegitimate brother Cy (Daryl McCormack), has-been novelist Lee (Andrew Scott), Simone (Cailee Spaeny), a sickly cellist, and Samson (Thomas Haden Church), the church’s groundskeeper however believe Jud is behind the murder, setting the exasperated priest on a quest to clear his name.

After dealing with the rich and famous in the flashy second instalment, Johnson returns to a more intimate whodunnit in Wake Up Dead Man. By setting the murder in a church, Johnson uses the opportunity to explore themes of faith, religion, and guilt. And indeed, over the film’s nearly 2.5-hour runtime, there is an ambitious dissection of the intriguing world of faith through the eyes of a believer (Jud) and the notoriously eccentric and likely atheist Blanc, whose only concern is upholding the truth.

Wake Up Dead Man is more of an in-depth character study, lightly dosed with humour, than a straightforward Agatha Christie–style mystery. One can’t help but wonder about Johnson’s true intention with the film, as the murder mystery ultimately unfolds more mechanically than naturally. The gravity of the case at hand is often undermined by Johnson’s need for irrelevant humour, including jabs at Scooby-Doo and even Star Wars, resulting at times in an unbalanced and contrived effort.

Craig’s Blanc doesn’t appear until nearly 30 minutes into the movie, giving Josh O’Connor the herculean task of headlining the mystery thriller for most of its runtime. O’Connor, who from certain angles resembles a young Adam Driver, arguably outshines many of his peers with a raw and unflinching performance as a man desperate to shake off his past and become a caring priest worthy of God. Close is a close second with her committed turn as a devoted church worker. The rest of the star-studded cast elevates the material despite their limited screen time, especially Renner and Scott.

For all its worth, Wake Up Dead Man fails to live up to the satire and sharpness established in the previous two films. The twisty murder mystery is often overtaken by Christian theology, and our Southern-accented detective takes a noticeable step backward here. It’s definitely not the best entry in the series, but we wouldn’t mind hanging out with Benoit Blanc again if Johnson and Craig agree to another instalment.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee