Credit should go to writer-director Rian Johnson for his detailed screenplay that expertly satirizes the world of the rich, privileged, and influential, and setting it ablaze, literally. Like 2019's Knives Out, Johnson builds characters (and their motivations), while keeping the plot moving forward steadily. This really is the film's key strength. In the revelatory latter acts, he decontructs the same characters (except for Craig's Benoit Blanc) and turns the plot on its head. The entire cast is having a ball here, and just like in the first film, it helps keep the engagement levels high. The mystery element isn't what you perceive from its first act at all, and that's where the non-linearity in storytelling helps. Just when I began to wonder why Janelle Monae wasn't hogging the limelight, Johnson proved me right and the case gets even more convoluted.

The others, including the likes of Kate Hudson (playing a tubelight fashionista), Dave Bautista (a men's rights activist & streamer), and Edward Norton (the billionaire whose words and actions elementarily recall a polarizing real-life figure), keep us guessing. I can watch as many of these movies with Blanc making moves right from the start and gathering folks together in the end for a stunning reveal. In this film, it's not entirely his show. And it's lovely when he just sits back for another key character to bask in their glorious moments. Maybe, we could have done away with all the COVID references, but given that Johnson conceptualized the film during the time, it's understandable.