STAR RATING: ***** Brilliant **** Very Good *** Okay ** Poor * Awful

Tech millionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) invites a select group of people to his private island (with a giant Glass Onion structure, hence the title), including Andrew Tate alike Duke Cody (Dave Bautista), fellow tech investor Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson), renowned detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) and Andi Brand (Janelle Monae), who has a score to settle with Bron, to participate in a seemingly innocuous murder mystery weekend, with a cash prize for the winner. However, as the weekend unfolds, it quickly becomes clear all is not as it seems.

It speaks to the power of Netflix these days that the big budget sequel to a theatrical smash hit can premiere on their channel now, and make hey only for them. But still, the original writer/director and leading cast member have returned, along with a slew of new faces, for this grand, bombastic follow up to the 2019 runaway hit. Filmed in a world where COVID had run amok, Rian Johnson takes the cultural consciousness in to consideration, with the cast in face masks, while the location switches from the inner confines of a remote mansion to the sunnier, more appealing setting of a sunny island.

Reprising his lead role from the original film, Craig seems like he can comfortably make Blanc a signature role, now that his tenure as Bond has come to an end, and like in the first film, he has a solid, strong supporting cast behind him to prop things up. Norton is easily the most charismatic of said SC, making his smarmy tech whizz character bounce off the screen, but the likes of Bautista and Monae also add their deft little touches to the film. Once again, there's an interesting, convoluted story that requires you to pay attention, along with some spectacular set pieces and crazy action.

It could be said that the pace drags in certain parts, as there's definitely something that stops it from being perfect, but overall it's a highly satisfactory and undeniably inevitable follow up to one of modern cinema's better received films. ****