The first Knives Out succeeded against all expectations, for two reasons: its emotional involvement with the central character, and the fact that she seemed unquestionably guilty of the central crime. It was a clever paradox: a sympathetic protagonist and a crime whose resolution is given right at the outset. The unraveling of that premise is carefully paced, and the revelations are both surprising and believable.

Alas, Glass Onion is entirely lacking in that level of cleverness. It's a brash, incoherent film, enlivened only by low humor and superficial caricature of outrageous real-world personalities. The crimes are contrived, the clues are not fairly planted, and the plot actually makes little to no sense. Daniel Craig's detective comes off as even more of a buffoon than in the first film, leaving very little to clutch onto.

This isn't a terrible film - it's simply a weak, uninspired one. The first Knives Out is a must-see. This sequel is a don't-bother.