"Knives Out" will hopefully survive this utterly disappointing sequel as a modern classic, but the writing is so excruciating that one cannot be too sure. As the original, the movie assembles an ensemble of distinctive characters - only they are really boring and lifeless this time. Daniel Craig's master sleuth was a bit of a dunce in the first one, which gave him a unique charm - now he's a run-of-the-mill "and-the-murderer-is" gay guy. The female lead, whose intelligence was the crux to "Knives Out", comes across as hapless and fickle this time (not the actress, she's great, her character isn't). Once the second story loop starts it's crystal clear who the killer is, but you have to wait a full hour for the revelation. And the grand finale is an insult to brain cells - congealed hydrogen at room temperature kind of stupid. The similarly themed "Triangle of Sadness" is much more on point and far more entertaining.