On Dec. 12, 2025, Netflix released the third installment of Rian Johnson's “Knives Out” trilogy. Fans of the series might be eager to see how this installment compares to the previous ones, especially in terms of tone and character development. This was a film I had been looking forward to for a long time, as I truly enjoy watching Daniel Craig prance around a crime scene in some fantastical locale, sounding like Foghorn Leghorn.
But this one is different. It is still a whodunit, as it is tightly paced and engaging, but the setting and the characters of the narrative might leave viewers feeling a bit disappointed.
The film certainly does contain an engaging premise. It details a priest with a troubled past as he moves into a new diocese, only for the monsignor of the parish to turn up dead (on Good Friday, no less) in the first thirty minutes of the film. The new priest must call on famous detective Benoit Blanc to clear his name and find out which member of the congregation is responsible. While the story does mainly focus on the exploration of the Catholic Church, it is clear to anyone with even a passing familiarity with the institution that Rian Johnson is not Catholic, for it does not seem that he is very interested in its theology.
The monsignor inherited the church from his grandfather, although many dioceses and seminaries would not accept widowers with children into their fold.
Further, a key part of the plot and of what makes the priest compelling to the potential murderers (referred to in the film as “the flock”) is that he personalizes his sermons to his various ills in the parish. While this concept is not impossible, it would be very unlikely, as the priest is required to read the exact portion of the Bible as every other priest in Sunday Mass, so such correlation to his current life events would be improbable, to say the least. He also faces no oversight from any bishop, nor is he reprimanded by any higher Church authority.
The film is also missing the dynamic ensemble that made the first two films compelling, and several actors seem underused, which might make fans feel a sense of missed opportunity. Despite the star-studded cast, the film doesn’t fully utilize their talents, possibly leaving viewers feeling a bit let down.
While the first film — and to a lesser extent the second — explore class relationships, the villains in this film seem to rely on conservative buzz words, which might make viewers feel these antagonists are less compelling and the story is less nuanced.
Despite all these gripes, I enjoyed the mystery; it was as compelling as the other two. The attempt to clear the lead of innocence is always a compelling premise, and “Wake Up Dead Man” did keep me engaged.
On a smaller note, I do enjoy that all the characters are still religious by the end of the story, and the experiences of the narrative have not shaken his faith, which is a fairly positive note from a relatively cynical director. As such, even if he doesn’t know much about Catholicism, Rian Johnson does seem to have a lot to say about faith in general and he handles it incredibly well. Blanc is not converted to any faith, and those who start the movie with faith remain faithful, resulting in a story that is a bit more complex than the secular notion of “religion is bad” or the religious notion of “religion is good”.
Overall, while this is not the best Knives Out film, it is still a good whodunit, and it is for sure a good Friday night watch if, like me, you do not have a lot else going on.
