This was all spectacle and no substance. The mystery doesn't even start for an hour. And then it's just a long rehash of the early bits as Rian Johnson tries to show you how clever he is.

The first half is just characters being edgy and monologuing about their superficial life problems. We never get to know any of them beyond their outrageous facades. And even when we finally get a character to root for at the halfway point, her tale of woe feels forced and comical, like it was cribbed from a daytime soap opera plot.

Benoit Blanc is an after thought in this, but not in the way he was in the first one. In Knives Out his aloof manner was the draw and his quirkiness helped maintained intrigue. Here it is just a rouse to attempt to keep your interest as characters ham it up and Johnson tries to justify his budget to Netflix by stretching this stinker to 2 1/2 hours.