Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery 2025 Movie Review
I travelled about 300 miles to my first film festival screening for the chance to see this movie early and I can honestly say that it was time and money well spent. I’ve been excited about and following these movies from the moment the first Knives Out was announced and it’s given me nothing but complete satisfaction. Watching all 3 movies in quick succession only further confirmed my love for them. Even if I think Wake Up Dead Man is my least favourite of the bunch I still loved the experience it provides and maybe more so than the first two movies I can’t wait to rewatch it just to catch on to the next embarrassing amount of details in almost every scene.
Something I love about what Johnson does with these movies is that he creates a wholly different experience with every new entry. It’s part of their lasting appeal and I quickly gave up on any notion that I was going to correctly predict anything because it’s a script that I have no shame in admitting is a lot smarter than I am. It’s unbelievably dense, even more so than I expected, and even if that occasionally comes to the films detriment I was just actively excited to see how everything was going to tie together because I had no reason to expect this movie to take a single misstep on a story level.
Wake Up Dead Man is decidedly different from its predecessors and in ways that never felt gimmicky. There’s even more moral complexity this time around to the point where I could see their being a real discussion around the justifications of certain characters which is not something I could say to the same degree for the other films. It’s actually quite thoughtful it’s commentary on religion and people of faith without ever being afraid to poke fun at the absurdity of the situations it’s presenting and it thankfully never felt cheap. It is absolutely hilarious in how the jokes sneak up on you and it was so unbelievably satisfying to watch this movie with an audience which is another one of the mountain of reasons I’m unbelievably frustrated that these movies have been relegated to Netflix.
Wake Up Dead Man feels considerably plot focused and I did feel that sometimes came at the expense of the characters. They’re appropriately colourful and fun to watch that I felt were developed the least so far. I loved the proxy-protagonist of Josh O’Connor this time around and I was really happy with the complex backstory they gave his character. He plays of Daniel Craig so well and just like the first two movies he’s the main point of investment for the entire narrative. I loved Glenn Close in how mysterious she is and I so enjoyed how unhinged Josh Brolin’s character and performance was. The rest of the characters didn’t feel that compelling to me but they all get their moments to shine and as always it’s just a delight to see this many actors of this calibre on screen together.
I also think the film is lacking a little bit of something that sets it apart from the rest of murder mystery genre. Both Knives Out and Glass Onion had structures that set them apart and feel entirely their own. While this movie isn’t entirely linear it’s a lot more linear than I expected. I kept expecting to film to make a turn that changed things but instead it ends up feeling like a story we might have seen before but executed to the highest level of quality possible. I also cannot overstate how packed this script is with details but I don’t know that I can always say it was for the better. The first 30 minutes in particular throw a lot at you and it doesn’t end up feeling like intrigue or tension building but just like a lot of information that left me feeling overwhelmed. I think it takes a bit too long for the story to introduce Benoit Blanc and the slight worry I have is that some of these sections might drag on rewatch knowing where everything goes but that doesn’t stop my desire to go back to this movie again in the slightest.
Wake Up Dead Man sits comfortably next to the other Knives Out movies and even despite its shortcomings it doesn’t change any desire I have to see Daniel Craig and Rian Johnson make countless more mysteries. It totally stands on its own as a new experience and it’s going to take at least a few watches to catch every little clue that Rian Johnson weaves into the narrative and I’ll happily go back to this movie to discover them. A great movie and a great experience and I’ll be so excited to see what Johnson does next whatever it ends up being.
