Following Knives Out with an equally engaging mystery and impressive ensemble cast was always going to be a tall order. The players in this complex whodunit sequel are passable, but the material they have to work with is nowhere near as clever, it being possible for most attentive and alert viewers to stay ahead of the game throughout, the clues hidden in plain sight. This being the case makes world famous detective Benoit Blanc's supposedly brilliant deductive reasoning seem far less impressive.

The opening act is a bit of a bore, director Rian Johnson introducing his characters with little flair, and Elon Musk-style billionaire Miles Bron's invitation to his island lacking in the necessary intrigue (almost everyone invited is his friend and he does the same thing every year).

The film is at its best during the middle act, when events are recapped and Johnson starts to pull the threads together, allowing the viewer to nod sagely at the fact that they correctly worked things out before they were revealed on screen.

The final act, on the other hand, is weak: instead of surprising the audience with something really clever, the film trundles on exactly as expected, with all of the remaining, supposedly morally bankrupt characters conveniently doing an about turn on their personalities at the same time, so that Bron will have to answer for his crimes.

Add some COVID-related nonsense that already makes the film feel dated, and what you have is a disappointingly mediocre effort that I hazard a guess will be the last Knives Out mystery.