The world premiere of Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” just took place at the Toronto Film Festival and the reactions so far have been overwhelmingly positive it seems.
Going by the reactions online, all seem to agree it’s a big improvement over the second film “Glass Onion” with a good portion of the reviews dubbing it the best of the three movies to date.
All the reviews call it the darkest, most old school, Gothic and emotional entry of the series to date, some calling it the funniest too, with universal high praise for Josh O’Connor and Glenn Close’s performances.
The cast was also on hand for a Q&A after the screening with Daniel Craig saying he’s not entirely ready to retire Benoit Blanc just yet: “These movies have to work at a very, very high level, otherwise there’s no point in doing them. So as long as they’re doing that, we’ll keep doing them.”
Here’s a sampling of reaction quotes from critics on hand at the screening:
“‘Wake Up Dead Man’ is the darkest, most layered, and most emotional entry in the series yet. Daniel Craig’s ever-hilarious and razor-sharp Benoit Blanc returns, but this third installment truly belongs to Josh O’Connor, who carries the film on his priest’s guilt-ridden back with warmth, charm and empathy. Johnson paints a striking motif of light and darkness in battle with one another, both literal and metaphorical, that keeps us questioning the truth, our beliefs, and perception.” – Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
“‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ is the best one yet. Heavier themes yet also the funniest one, Daniel Craig and Rian Johnson should never stop making Benoit Blanc tales. Josh O’Connor steals the movie. What a good time!” – Joey Magidson, Awards Radar
“Wake Up Dead Man f—ing rocks and features Daniel Craig in his best Benoit Blanc appearance yet. Josh O’Connor is the star of this entry and he absolutely owns his role as Father Jud. I loved O’Connor’s chemistry with Craig and want to see more of them together. I also dug the gothic church backdrop of the film. Rian Johnson really changed things up this time around and I think he absolutely nailed it. This was an absolute blast” – Scott Menzel, Awards Buzz
“Rian Johnson three-peated. ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ is the most visually striking and thematically potent character based Knives Out flick to date. A phenomenal study on the consequences of right co-opting of institutionalized religion wrapped in another great whodunnit.” – Rendy Jones, Den of Geek
“‘Wake Up Dead Man’is not the strongest Knives Out story (2nd best. Stronger than Glass Onion. Doesn’t come close to the first). It has too many donut holes in its central mystery. But what it does have is a showcase role for Josh O’Connor who continues to prove why he is the actor of his generation. Glenn Close is the other clear standout. ” – Jack Murphy, Oscar Film Forecast
“WAKE UP DEAD MAN is a total triumph. It’s probably the sloppiest one, but it’s by far the one that moved me the most. Far darker than the previous two, it asks for an extraordinary amount of patience that at times feels hopeless, but it coalesces beautifully. Hats off!” – Eric Hardman, CineMasters
“‘Wake Up Dead Man’ feels more like a “traditional” murder mystery, with some gorgeously dark and gothic inflections of Edgar Allen Poe. Yet it manages to be his most twisty and emotional mystery yet, with riveting character work.” – Kevin Lee, Film Inquiry
“The twistiest, darkest, and most surprisingly emotional Knives Out film. Glenn Close and Josh O’Connor are absolute standouts, and Benoit Blanc says “Scooby-Dooby-Do.” What more could you want?” – Ross Bonaime, Collider
“Wake Up Dead Man is great. the levels of meta involved in using John Dickson Carr’s The Hollow Man the way he does (not to mention Christie’s Roger Ackroyd and others) is ballsy as s—. i think Rian Johnson may be our best mystery writer.” – Corey Atad, Esquire
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” is slated to open in a limited theatrical run on November 26th and will be followed by a Netflix release on December 12th.
