Three films into the Knives Out series and Rian Johnson still isn’t bored with his own funhouse — and neither am I. Each entry in the Agatha Christie–inspired franchise has told a different story with a different cast and setting, but they’ve all been mainstream crowd-pleasers that feel intelligently crafted rather than assembled by an algorithm, the rare series where “new installment” means “new flavor” instead of “same meal reheated.”
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery keeps that streak alive. It’s not as bright and cameo-filled as 2022’s Greek island–set Glass Onion was. But it’s sharper and more self-possessed than the original Knives Out was.
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