‘Wake Up Dead Man’ Review: Is This the Best ‘Knives Out’ Mystery Yet?

Despite not being officially released just yet, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery has managed to become one of my favorite films of the year. I was privileged enough to see it early, alongside many other films, at the Chicago International Film Festival in a packed theater. As we left the early screening, the excitement from my fellow festivalgoers felt electric.

Despite seeing so many great films at this festival, Wake Up Dead Man really stuck with me. I wasn’t a massive Knives Out fan, but I did enjoy the series as sort of a guilty pleasure. However, this one felt different, and it lingered in my mind on the train ride home for reasons far beyond the actual murder mystery.

Simply put, I believe Wake Up Dead Man is the best movie in the series. It manages to follow up on all of the elements that made the previous movies work and expands upon them in fascinating ways. Not only is it the best in the series, but one of the best movies of the year so far.

Turning the page

Wake Up Dead Man is the third Knives Out mystery to grace the screen. Following the monumental success of the original Knives Out in 2019, director Rian Johnson was able to secure a deal with Netflix that green-lighted two more films in the franchise. After Glass Onion’s release, Wake Up Dead Man will mark the second film of this deal. This leaves the future of the franchise in uncertainty. 

The success of the first Knives Out is very much warranted. Despite its compelling murder mystery angle, the original film has a surprising amount of political commentary and depth. Benoit Blanc, the face of the franchise, is more of a supporting character. This gives the other characters in the film more focus and insight into their personalities. It succeeds in being a murder mystery, a witty comedy, and a political satire all at once. 

However, its sequel, Glass Onion, is unfortunately a very disappointing movie. Benoit Blanc is now the main protagonist. Although he is a very charming character, he simply isn’t interesting enough to carry the story on his own. The mystery itself is also pretty underwhelming. Even if that is intentional, it makes the bloated runtime sting even more. The political commentary is far more blatant as well, which isn’t the worst thing in the world. However, it simply lacks the edge the first film had. Glass Onion isn’t terrible, but it is certainly dull.

A new chapter

Despite the hit-or-miss nature of the franchise before it, Wake Up Dead Man surpasses the first two as perhaps the best film in the series. Rian Johnson seemingly beefed up the elements that worked from the first two movies. However, he also heavily cut down on and minimized what didn’t work. Wake Up Dead Man falls more in line with Knives Out than it does Glass Onion, returning to the roots of the franchise.

For one, Benoit Blanc is no longer the lead. Even more so than the first movie, this is very much a character-driven drama, not just a puzzling mystery. Without spoiling anything, the protagonist we follow is genuinely a compelling character, not just a prop for a murder mystery. The movie prioritizes their character arc just as much as the mystery, giving us much more to chew on.

The mystery itself is fun in the moment, but like the other movies in the franchise, it loses me as it goes on. The Rube Goldberg machine style of writing does admittedly get a little too complicated. As a result, I sort of lost interest in the actual clues as it went along. It also does something similar to what Glass Onion does, as it misguides you to a fault. However, this is a series staple by this point, so I’ve accepted that you just need to go along with the ride for these movies. Still, sometimes it is kind of annoying to not be given the tools to piece together the mystery yourself.

That said, the character work more than makes up for it. Even though I was unsatisfied with the answer itself, the character moments and arcs that follow because of the mystery make it worthwhile. The sign of a great murder mystery isn’t simply how compelling the mystery is, but the larger narrative surrounding it.

Between the lines

The movie also takes the best of both worlds when it comes to its political commentary. Although it can be just as blatant as Glass Onion was at points, what I found most compelling was the film’s central metaphor. Without spoiling, the movie plays around with America’s current political climate. Specifically, it explores how modern-day politics foster fear, anger, and division in our communities. However, it weaves politics into the narrative by using characters as stand-ins and metaphors. This makes the miscellaneous suspects in the movie a bit more compelling.

Of course, this movie is also very much about religion and the church as well. Although the Knives Out movies tend to be pretty sardonic and sarcastic when it comes to portraying our world, I was honestly pretty surprised to see the movie handle such a subject with so much tenderness. Some of my favorite scenes in the movie are just the characters having authentic conversations about what religion means to them. The film handles the topic with a certain tenderness and warmth that felt mature and respectful. 

Although this movie does have a lot of jokes, many of which are the funniest in series history, I found myself drawn to the more dramatic elements more than I ever expected. My biggest gripe with the previous two movies was that I didn’t really have any reason to care. Rian Johnson’s melancholic but hopeful satire on modern-day society in this movie gave me a lot to chew on. For that, it has stuck in my mind.

Wake Up Dead Man manages to be a jack of all trades. It’s funny, filled with twists and turns, but has a great heart beyond that. It speaks to our times without feeling preachy or inauthentic. All of these puzzle pieces line up together to create more than just a good time at the movies, but a work of art that lingers long after the credits roll.

Wake Up Dead Man is absolutely worth watching when it releases in select theaters November 26th and on Netflix December 12th.