{"id":32593,"date":"2025-12-04T22:43:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T06:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=32593"},"modified":"2025-12-04T22:43:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T06:43:08","slug":"wake-up-dead-man-a-knives-out-mystery-creates-enough-intrigue-to-earn-a-recommendation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=32593","title":{"rendered":"WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY Creates Enough Intrigue to Earn a Recommendation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 144 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feature from Netflix received a limited theatrical\nrelease and will be debuting on the streaming service December 12th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back at the end of 2019, Knives Out<\/em> arrived out of\nthe blue, charmed audiences and became a box office smash. The Lionsgate\nproduction featured a talented cast of stars, a witty screenplay and a\ncompelling mystery with an amusingly quirky investigator. A Netflix sequel\narrived three years later, featuring a similar setup. It was decent, but\ncouldn\u2019t quite match the original. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery<\/em>\nis the latest entry. Like the previous sequel, it is receiving a brief\ntheatrical release before officially arriving on Netflix for all to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It begins with a lengthy introduction from ex-boxer turned\nCatholic priest Reverend Jud Duplenticy (Josh O\u2019Connor). He explains his\nviolent past and choice to make a fresh start serving the Catholic church.\nHowever, Duplenticy admits to having a difficult time controlling his temper.\nThings get worse when he is assigned to work under Monsignor Jefferson Wicks\n(Josh Brolin). His superior has extreme views and seems pleased to rattle the\ncongregation, to the point where he now has only a handful of followers left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The remaining fervent devotees include church aide Martha\nDelacroix (Glenn Close), Dr. Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), lawyer Vera Draven\n(Kerry Washington), writer Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), cellist Simone Vivane\n(Cailee Spaeny), videographer Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack) and groundskeeper\nSamson Holt (Thomas Haden Church). During Good Friday services, Wicks is found\ndead, with Jud Duplenticy being named the prime suspect by police chief\nGeraldine Scott (Mila Kunis). After finding herself unable to close the case, Benoit\nBlanc (Daniel Craig) is called in to prove the identity of the killer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At times, the film almost feels like a cousin of the Father\nBrown<\/em> British mystery program, only set in the United States. The church\nsetting, featuring only the primary characters above, lend this title an even\nmore intimate feel than earlier installments, and the performers are all\nentertaining to watch. O\u2019Connor\u2019s character is actually the protagonist of the\nstory, which is especially evident as much of the set-up to the murder is told\nthrough his eyes. The young priest is eager to serve and inspire, only to find\nhimself surrounded by a group of disagreeable individuals who also seem to have\nan interest in Wicks\u2019 estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close also makes a memorable impression as the church aide,\nwho frequently appears from behind corners to alarm Duplenticy in amusing ways.\nAnd when he finally arrives on the scene, it\u2019s as fun as ever to watch Craig\u2019s\nBlanc investigate the case. There is plenty of entertaining back and forth\nbetween non-believer Blanc and the devoted Duplenticy, adding some good-natured\nsparring to the pair. As the case progresses and Blanc finds himself struggling\nto come up with an answer for what has occurred, there are also a few tense\nmoments, not to mention a couple of unsettling sights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For the most part, it\u2019s a fun little mystery, but there are some minor nitpicks. As mentioned, we don\u2019t even see the quirky, humorous Blanc in the first 45 minutes of the story. In fact, the pacing in general is slower this time out. And while the investigator believes Duplenticy to be unjustly accused, as more and more evidence is revealed, it continually points back to the priest, which eventually begins to feel repetitive. Additionally, the big reveal isn\u2019t quite as satisfying as hoped for. For me, when one watches a mystery, it\u2019s important that the clues are all laid out for viewers so that they too have a chance of figuring it out. But upon first viewing, it feels overly complicated, leaving one having to just accept the explanation presented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the film has its moments and is agreeable overall. If\nI were to rate this picture within the franchise, it doesn\u2019t match the\nmarvelous original, but I would rank it slightly higher than the previous\nchapter. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery<\/em> may not be the high\npoint in Benoit Blanc\u2019s career, but it\u2019s intriguing and enjoyable enough to\nearn a solid recommendation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 144 minutes This feature from Netflix received a limited theatrical release and will be debuting on the streaming service December 12th. Back at the end of 2019, Knives Out arrived out of the blue, charmed audiences and became a box office smash. The Lionsgate production featured a talented cast of stars, a witty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":32595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[216,471,1392,3753,4660,5140,5250,8381,10612,11045,11059,11610,11854,11857,13950,14399,14407,14523,14680,18035,22769,23912,23913,23914,23915,23916,23917,23918],"class_list":["post-32593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-216","tag-a-knives-out-mystery-review","tag-andrew-scott","tag-cailee-spaeny","tag-comedy","tag-daniel-graig","tag-daryl-mccormack","tag-glenn-close","tag-jeremy-renner","tag-josh-brolin","tag-josh-oconnor","tag-kerry-washington","tag-knives-out","tag-knives-out-mystery","tag-mila-kunis","tag-murder","tag-murder-mystery","tag-mystery","tag-netflix","tag-sequel","tag-thomas-haden-church","tag-wake-up-dead-man","tag-wake-up-dead-man-movie-review","tag-wake-up-dead-man-review","tag-wake-up-dead-man-a-knives-out-mystery","tag-wake-up-dead-man-a-knives-out-mystery-film-review","tag-wake-up-dead-man-a-knives-out-mystery-movie-review","tag-wake-up-dead-man-a-knives-out-mystery-review"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32593\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}