Knives Out (2019) -

While I enjoyed this film - It's got Chris Evans and Daniel Craig in it, how could I not? - It doesn't quite have the pace and the finesse of others of the same style.

There are hints of Wes Anderson's 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (2014) and obvious nods to Agatha Christie's 'Poirot' and even a bit of 'Midsomer Murders' (1997-) in some ways. It's a crime drama/thriller/comedy, it's easy to see such similarities, but yet it still does it well and in a slightly unique way.

The cast all give performances that are enjoyable, even some of the lesser known or less recently observed names like Don Johnson give what is needed and they keep you guessing throughout as to who the killer is (Obviously). Even when you think that it must be 'Insert Name' there is still a doubt that you might be wrong or maybe that they had an accomplice. And isn't that what we watch films of this sort for - The test of our own detective skills? In that respect it does a good job and I'd happily watch it again in ten years time, when I might have forgotten who did what, but it's not such a great that I would want to watch it any sooner, regardless of knowing the outcome. I can easily watch repeats of Peter Ustinov's Poirot films - 'Evil Under The Sun' (1982) and 'Death On The Nile' (1978) knowing full well who the naughty murderers are, because the production values and performances are all noteworthy and perhaps there is an element of nostalgia to them that a new generation might find in this film, but for me it just seems to coast along a bit.

There's nothing wrong with that of course. Sometimes that is all we need from a film, but I can't get super excited about viewing it for a second time, because it's missing something that Mr Ustinov's films had to make them more accessible and polished.

I would be happy to see another film with Daniel Craig as the detective Benoit Blanc taking on his next challenge, in a similar way to the Poirot idea, but I would hope that another one would give me something more. A little extra that I didn't get here. Maybe Chris Evans naked would be a good start?

699.91/1000.