As evidenced by the James Bond adventures, The Godfather Part II, The Empire Strikes Back, and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the sequel to a tremendously successful film frequently seeks to outdo it. In "Knives Out," directed by Rian Johnson, a retro whodunit that takes place in the mansion of a murdered mystery author, Agatha Christie's storytelling brilliance is recreated. It served as a hilariously cathartic reminder that a movie style we associate with old Hollywood might still take a stand for justice in the multiplex. Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, was a cynically cunning genius who was more super than any superhero. He was a Southern gentleman's take on Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.

Even though the title makes no reference to the Beatles, Johnson's thriller "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" is brazen enough to use a Beatles song in its title. It describes the stunning onion-shaped glass chamber that is perched atop a home owned by the scandalously ambitious, well-known, and conceited tech tycoon Miles Bron. For a three-day retreat to his own paradise, Miles has assembled five of his old friends. The mansion setting, hidden from prying eyes of society, ups the ante on the traditional house from the first movie. The majority of the film is set in a sizable living room that is filled with little glass sculptures, postmodern designer furniture, and garishly clashing, expensive works of art.

"Glass Onion" opening scene serves as a metaphor for the film, which is a thriller wrapped in a conundrum. With several suspects, backstories, and two whodunit homicides for the price of one, it is a murder mystery.

Compared to the original "Knives Out," "Glass Onion" is a bigger, showier, and much more intricately multifaceted shell-game mystery. The suspects float in a delectable region between poisonous and sympathetic, and Craig gives a droll performance. However, it is little less satisfying than before to have the murderer identified. The first of two sequels, the film calls for sharper knives in the second installment.