I was lucky enough this week to see a couple of films at the London Film Festival on tour, at my local independent cinema, Showroom in Sheffield. It always feels good to not just see films very early, but also in a room full of people who live and breathe film, being fully swept up in the occasion of an event like this. Opening night, I managed to catch Wake Up Dead Man, the most recent venture in Rian Johnson’s excellent Knives Out franchise. The original film and its sequel, Glass Onion, are both wonderful odes to classic whodunnits, poking fun at their over-the-top nature, whilst providing consistently engaging twists and turns. With Rian Johnson’s clever writing and the incredible ensemble casts, headed by Daniel Craig’s hilarious Benoit Blanc, both experiences are two of the most entertaining modern murder mysteries you can find. Wake Up Dead Man is no different and takes all of what makes those films great and matches it. It does nothing to ascend this formula to new heights, but it does offer another examination of more murder mystery conventions. It may be nothing new, but the crux of it is that Rian Johnson is good at making these films fun, and if he continues to make them, I will continue to watch them without question.

Wake Up Dead Man follows Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor), a young priest who is sent out to the church of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) to be an assistant pastor. He quickly finds out that this particular parish is rather strange, and the people are somehow stranger. Wicks is an unconventional pastor, often going off script for his sermons, bellowing at people, and essentially scaring them into either leaving in outrage, or being too scared or enamoured to move. His circle of faithful regulars, such as his right-hand woman, Martha (Glenn Close), seems to be under a spell cast by him, where nobody talks bad about him, and they seem to dedicate their lives to the church and its tight-knit community. Jud is clearly an outsider, feeling threatened by Wicks, who does not seem to want or need an assistant at all. Things get to their worst, though, when somebody is murdered and Jud is the primary suspect, although it does not seem like anybody could have possibly committed this crime. With everybody confused among the congregation and even the investigating police force, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) comes to help. Questioning his own ability and also feeling threatened by the community, Blanc shakes it off to try and help Jud and get to the bottom of this seemingly impossible crime.

The quality of the writing is where these films live and die, but luckily, Rian Johnson is up to the task. Its initial framing of the murder as ‘the impossible crime’ is such a brilliant hook. It follows the suit of each of the Knives Out films, examining a strain of murder mystery. The first film dealt with just a standard, typical crime; Glass Onion was about some crimes being much less elaborate than you might think, and here we have Wake Up Dead Man deconstructing something so elaborate, it at first seems impossible. It is thrilling to see, especially as it goes against everything Benoit Blanc has had to deal with before. He has always been so sure of himself, pretty much showing off in the first two films, but this crime is something he really does not think he can solve. This offers a bit more dimension to Blanc, that he is not this supremely intelligent being that will always get the job done with ease. He is just a human with a job, a job he happens to be very good at, but everybody has their limit. Josh O’Connor’s character is very interesting too, full of complexity due to his backstory and the current overwhelming situation he finds himself in. He has not been a priest for long, and he reveals that he did so due to some tragedy in his own life. One moment really stands out where he finds himself so consumed in the case that he neglects his duty to help people, and it causes him to really take a step back and question everything. This and the central conflict Blanc goes through show more care and focus towards the characters in this one, and they are not the only characters with this degree of attention. Having these well-thought-out characters elevates the mystery more because it makes the reveals and twists related to each character much more impactful. They are the foundation this time around and are most of the reason this film succeeds.

Another glowing reason Wake Up Dead Man lands so emphatically is how hilarious it is. The previous films are quite funny, mostly due to Daniel Craig’s scenery-chewing brilliance, but I have never walked out of one of them thinking that was one of the main takeaways. It certainly helped being in a film festival screening full of people who were as excited as I, but the audience was almost constantly electric with laughter. Johnson has seemed to really hit his stride with the comedy writing, with some well-crafted moments and running jokes throughout. Daryl McCormack’s character, for example, is meant to be the influencer stereotype, and so he records everything for no reason other than it may be content. It is hilarious every time he whips his phone and massive recording setup out, or it just so happens he has recorded an integral moment to the case. The intensity and over-the-top nature of the case is comedic in itself, and there are numerous riffs on how ridiculous the whole ordeal is, hence why this running joke and the convenience of these moments being recorded work. Perhaps the biggest reason this film is so funny and entertaining is down to its assortment of great performances. Daniel Craig is excellent once again, his ridiculous accent pulling a lot of weight, but also his pitch-perfect comedic timing. Josh O’Connor is so charismatic and makes pretty much any line work, and is the perfect foil to Josh Brolin as this sleazebag pastor, who also has some incredibly funny lines. Even the smaller roles of Jeffrey Wright and Jeremy Renner, to name a couple, are screen stealers and offer such infectious comedy. The decision to lean towards more comedy allows the plot to get more silly and the characters to become more absurd, and that is this new entry’s biggest gift to the franchise.

Wake Up Dead Man is great, and if you enjoyed the previous two, I would not hesitate to recommend this to you. Rian Johnson has said that he will keep making these films because he enjoys it so much, and it is clear to see why. When the final product is as entertaining as this, it must be immense fun both in the writers’ room and on set to bring it all together. If you are going to get a bunch of big actors for a massive big-budget venture, a whodunnit is one of the best avenues to take. These films would no doubt work well without their star-studded casts, but that star power really does elevate the experience into feeling like a proper event. Netflix’s deal with Rian Johnson to make these films for them is now over, but I do hope they extend their deal or that Rian Johnson finds the means to get people on board for more. Because they are always great and above everything, some of the most fun you can have in the cinema. Wake Up Dead Man does not do much new for the murder mystery, but neither do its predecessors, and it chooses to continue exploring everything we love about classics of the genre. It’s hilarious, it’s constantly engaging, and it is endlessly entertaining.