‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ Movie Review: Another Darkly Enticing Benoit Blanc Investigation With Terrific Performances From Daniel Craig and Josh O’Connor (LatestLY Exclusive)
Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery Movie Review: Rian Johnson’s trilogy of Knives Out films is not merely a set of stylish Agatha Christie-coded who-(or how-and-why)-dunnits; it is also a running commentary on the world’s fraying social dynamics. If the first film skewered class divides and the oblivious privilege of the insulated elite, and the second gleefully needled the fragile egos of self-mythologising tech billionaires, then the third chooses an even thornier battlefield: religion, or rather those who weaponise faith for personal gain. Knives Out Movie Review: A Brilliant Murder Mystery Anchored by Daniel Craig’s Exemplary Performance.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, now streaming on Netflix, picks at nerves that audiences may find uncomfortable, perhaps even polarising. And yet, Johnson still serves a gripping, twist-laden mystery anchored by the ever-enigmatic Benoit Blanc, played with consistent and consummate ease by the always fantastic Daniel Craig.
‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ Movie Review – The Plot
This time, Blanc is called to a sleepy town where Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) is discovered dead in a storage closet beside the pulpit mid-sermon. Suspicion falls swiftly upon Reverend Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor), a recently transferred pastor openly at odds with Wicks’ manipulative preaching style and thinly veiled contempt for dissent.
Watch the Trailer of ‘Wake Up Dead Man’:
But, in true Johnson fashion, the parish is filled with other possible culprits: Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), a long-time churchgoer unhealthily fixated on Wicks; the love-struck groundskeeper Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church); Dr Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), whose broken family haunts him; Vera Draven (Kerry Washington) and her reluctant adoptive son Cy (Daryl McCormack), glued to his camera for online validation; Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), a paranoid writer; and Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), a disabled cellist clinging to the hope of a miracle Wicks insinuated he could deliver.
A Still From Wake Up Dead Man
Meanwhile, local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) seems far too eager to close the case by pinning everything on Duplenticy.
Johnson again resists the traditional structure of a murder mystery. We think we understand how the death occurred – until the film abruptly yanks the rug, revealing we have only seen fragments of a larger, murkier picture. Blanc’s eventual arrival reframes everything, laying out the story like a deck reshuffled mid-game. The signature pleasure lies in how each film chooses a different pattern for that shuffle.
A Still From Wake Up Dead Man
Here, the central hook is an ostensibly impossible crime: a man murdered in a cramped room while every suspect is in plain view. But Johnson does not rely on the puzzle alone. He piles on revelations, unpacks hidden histories, and leaves breadcrumbs tied thematically to the film’s title.
A Still From Wake Up Dead Man
There is a subtle gloom pervading Wake Up Dead Man – not just visually, with its dusky palette and weightier atmosphere, but emotionally, yet the black humour remains intact. From Duplenticy’s reflexive swat at Martha’s pointing finger to Wicks’ crude confessions meant solely to provoke, the humour lands with a well-timed sting. Glass Onion A Knives Out Mystery Movie Review: Rian Johnson-Daniel Craig Pull Off Another Brilliant Benoit Blanc Murder Mystery.
‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ Movie Review – Josh O’Connor Shines
The ensemble is uniformly strong, even if not all get equal space – Kunis and Renner, especially, are underserved. The standout is Josh O’Connor, commanding the narrative for a long stretch before Blanc even appears. As a pastor burdened by a bruised faith and a past he cannot outrun, O’Connor exudes both fragility and fierce conviction. His dynamic with Craig hits its peak in a terrific church sequence where belief collides with rationalism in the most theatrical way Johnson has staged so far. Among the rest of the cast, Josh Brolin and Glenn Close get to stand out.
A Still From Wake Up Dead Man
Once Blanc steps in, the narrative accelerates with propulsive clarity, eventually culminating in a finale that spills both metaphorical and literal skeletons. One major reveal hinges on a time-sensitive discovery that does stretch plausibility – if not quite a deal-breaker, it is conspicuously neat. Otherwise, Wake Up Dead Man stands as another terrific entry in one of contemporary cinema’s most consistently delightful franchises. It makes you greedily hope Johnson keeps churning out these mysteries forever, even as you remind yourself he deserves the chance to soar into other genres. Right? Right?
‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ Movie Review – Final Thoughts
Wake Up Dead Man is Johnson pushing the franchise into darker, more volatile terrain without losing the wit and structural ingenuity that make these films so irresistible. Even with a few conveniences in the final stretch, the film’s thematic bite and narrative dexterity shine through. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is streaming on Netflix
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(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Dec 12, 2025 06:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).
