“Glass Onion,” Director Rian Johnson’s sequel to his critically acclaimed film “Knives Out,” released on Netflix on December 23, 2022 and quickly became the fourth most-watched movie ever in the streaming platform’s history. However, despite the movie’s whodunit plot and fantastic elements providing widespread appeal, its connections between the dangers of disinformation and the uses of modern technology ground it in reality, making it one of the year’s best films. 

Whereas the first film was mostly isolated to the Thrombey family’s Massachusetts mansion, this film kicks things up a notch, heading to the private island of tech billionaire Miles Bron, who many fans compared to Elon Musk due to their eccentric, multi-million dollar projects. 

The film’s plot revolves around Bron’s massive fortune and his new miracle product “Klear” described as the future of clean energy, despite the many objections that scientist Lionel Toussaint has regarding its safety. 

It seems that many of the characters are modeled after the different realms that are afflicted by disinformation in our modern era. Bron’s connections to Musk are obvious, but the platform that Duke Cody’s misogynistic online content has gotten him is akin to that of Andrew Tate. Kathryn Hahn’s portrayal of Connecticut governor Claire Debella seems like a precursor to New York Congressman George Santos, who has also tried to cover up things from his past that put his candidacy in danger. 

The film’s mystery is a step-down, but that is obvious when realizing just how intricate Rian Johnson’s first film in the series actually was. What the second film improves on is the characterization of each of the main cast: each one gets their own time to shine despite the movie being loaded with A-List actors. 

But the MVP really has to be Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc. You can really see the joy that he has playing this character and it is almost impossible to realize that this is the same man who plays the slick, debonair James Bond.