This movie has has an average review of 7.6, but if you look at the written reviews you will see mostly negative reviews from 1 to 5 stars. What does this mean? Review bombing. I.e. You can't trust them. A small but vocal minority doesn't like (1) Rian Johnson and/or (2) black actresses in lead roles, so they write 1/10 reviews, which is ridiculous.

As for the movie itself, I very much enjoyed it. Is it better than the first? I don't know, and it doesn't matter, because they are different movies. This isn't a sequel, just a different story. Are all Bond movies the same? Are all Poirot stories the same? No, they are different and each has strengths and weaknesses, and they do not always follow the same template.

Glass Onion takes a great cast and gives them all something meaningful to do. As with all the great murder mysteries of old, we spend lots of time with the large cast of characters so learn along with the protagonist.

Also, as the title suggests, there are more layers to this story than may be obvious. Anyone to claims the beginning "was boring" is missing those layers, as there are set ups and payoffs. Lots of literal and figurative "Chekhov's guns" being placed. The story-telling style itself is also foreshadowed cleverly. All the "bored" reviewers missed those details.

Watch this movie actively. Don't be on your phone, don't be doing other things.