Rian Johnson has always been one of those filmmakers who refuses to sit still. The man hops genres like he’s speed‑running cinema: the time‑twisting noir of Looper, the unexpectedly soulful detour he took with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and the sly, character‑driven pleasures of Poker Face. He’s a director who trusts audiences to keep up, rewards them when they do, and needles them a little when they don’t. So when he circles back to Benoit Blanc for another mystery, the expectation isn’t “more of the same”—it’s “what’s he going to pull off this time?” Wake Up Dead Man answers that question with a grin sharp enough to cut glass.
The third film in the Knives Out series drops Blanc into a darker, more gothic corner of Johnson’s puzzle‑box universe, and the shift in tone is delicious. Gone is the sun‑drenched satire of Glass Onion; in its place is something moodier, stranger, and more steeped in the kind of Americana that smells faintly of old hymnals and bad secrets. Johnson layers the mystery with his usual precision—every detail feels intentional, every misdirection feels earned, and every reveal lands with that satisfying “oh, you clever jerk” energy that makes his best work sing. It’s a ride that knows exactly when to wink and when to twist the knife.
The ensemble cast, as always, is a buffet of personalities, egos, and beautifully calibrated weirdness. Johnson has a gift for casting actors who look like they wandered in from entirely different movies and then making them harmonize. Everyone gets a moment to shine, whether it’s a perfectly timed comedic beat, a barbed line delivery, or a flash of emotional honesty that sneaks up on you. The chemistry is chaotic in the best way—like a dinner party where everyone brought a different kind of wine and somehow it all pairs with the entrée.
Daniel Craig, meanwhile, continues to treat Benoit Blanc like the most fun he’s ever had on camera. His performance here is looser, more haunted, and somehow even more committed to that honey‑dripping drawl that sounds like it was aged in a bourbon barrel. Craig leans into the darker tone without losing the character’s warmth or eccentricity, and Johnson gives him room to stretch—emotionally, comedically, and sartorially. Blanc remains one of the great modern detectives because Craig plays him with equal parts sincerity and mischief, and Wake Up Dead Man lets him hit every register.
When the dust settles and the bodies metaphorically (and maybe literally) stop dropping, what you’re left with is another rock‑solid entry in a franchise that refuses to coast. This is a 5‑Reels‑straight‑up‑solid mystery—smart, stylish, and just snarky enough to remind you that Johnson knows exactly what he’s doing.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is streaming on Netflix. Rian Johnson has been pretty open about one thing: as long as he’s got a fresh angle and Daniel Craig is still having the time of his life in those linen suits, Benoit Blanc isn’t going anywhere . . . catch up now!
MPAA Rating: PG-13.
Runtime: 144 mins
Director: Rian Johnson
Writer: Rian Johnson
Cast: Daniel Craig; Josh O'Connor; Glenn Close
Genre: Whodunnit | Comedy
Tagline: A Netflix Documentary.
Memorable Movie Quote: "I don’t know if it’s clear, but I’m apparently on the spectrum."
Distributor: Netflix
Official Site:
Release Date: December 121, 2025
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: Detective Benoit Blanc teams up with an earnest young priest to investigate a perfectly impossible crime at a small-town church with a dark history.
