5 Reasons Knives Out Is The Best Benoit Blanc Movie (& 5 It’s Glass Onion) (2024)

While Knives Out is often considered the better of Rian Johnson's two Benoit Blanc murder mystery movies, there is a strong case for Glass Onion being the superior film. Both movies received widespread acclaim from critics and were received just as well by audiences. Indeed, the Knives Out movies are quickly becoming the standard for modern murder mystery movies, reinventing the classic whodunit subgenre.

With that in mind, the already-confirmed Knives Out 3 will have big shoes to fill as it attempts to carry on the massive success of the first two movies. There are some key differences between Knives Out and Glass Onion, so Knives Out 3 will likely have its own distinctive qualities to separate it from its predecessors. Still, the hope is that it can deliver a similar level of quality overall. While Knives Out and Glass Onion are very near each other in terms of quality, there are good reasons that Knives Out is better — and reasonable arguments Glass Onion is better as well.

10 Knives Out Has A Better Overall Mystery

While Glass Onion has a fantastic mystery at the heart of its story, it's not as thoroughly excellent as the mystery in Knives Out. The mystery in Knives Out is better reasoned and ultimately more believable. It's also more complex in terms of motive and the actual execution of the murder. At the end of Knives Out, it's revealed that Ransom is responsible for switching Harlan's medicines in order to frame Marta for murdering him so that she couldn't inherit his fortune.

Glass Onion's murder turns out to be Miles Bron's work, motivated by his desire to launch a new form of dangerously volatile fuel. Despite being a powerful billionaire with armies of lawyers and other resources, he decides to murder Andi for trying to stop him. What's more, Bron actually kills her and Duke with his own hand, another unlikely thing for a bloodthirsty billionaire with unlimited resources to do. Glass Onion's mystery is expertly told, and there are things to account for its plot holes, but it's still not as believable as Knives Out.

9 Glass Onion Has A More Elaborate Set

One thing that gives Glass Onion a leg up on Knives Out is its bigger, more elaborate set. Glass Onion mostly takes place on a private island in Greece, which lends it a stunning backdrop for a murder mystery. Glass Onion also displays the trappings of extreme wealth in great detail as the story takes the characters through the depths of Miles Bron's private island, which is filled with elaborate art and technology. Knives Out, on the other hand, takes place in various parts of Massachusetts, and while it has an elaborate set as well, it's not nearly as stunning as Glass Onion's.

8 Knives Out Has Better Performances

Glass Onion's cast is definitely talented, and their performances are strong, but the performances in Knives Out are unequivocally better. Watching Knives Out feels like observing a real family as they bicker over long-standing conflicts. Their dysfunctional dynamic is entirely believable, and the characters manage to make it seem like they're having the same arguments they've been having for years. The cast feels like they've been acting together for decades. While Glass Onion's cast does a great job too, their performances are not nearly as believable as Knives Out's.

7 Glass Onion Has More Flare

Glass Onion is a much showier film, full of bright colors and stunning cinematography. Where Knives Out has the spooky feel of a rainy day in New England, Glass Onion feels like a lavish vacation. Even Benoit Blanc himself can be spotted in garish blues and yellows, proving the level of focus the film puts on creating a brighter, more striking visual experience. Glass Onion's flare also manifests itself in the script, which has more humor and a higher emphasis on subverting expectations. Knives Out feels more like a modern take on an Agatha Christie novel, whereas Glass Onion is more original and distinct.

6 Knives Out Develops Better Characters

Knives Out does a better job of developing its characters than Glass Onion does despite having a larger cast. The characters in Knives Out are more thoroughly fleshed out as the narrative progresses, and they are more complex people than the characters in Glass Onion. While most of the characters in both films are spoiled and egregiously wealthy, Knives Out's characters are more relatable. Their motives and personalities seem more complex and interesting than the characters in Glass Onion.

5 Glass Onion Is More Modern

Glass Onion is more modern than Knives Out in a number of ways. Firstly, the premise is a somewhat modernized version of Knives Out's, taking place on a tech billionaire's private island instead of a famous author's New England estate. Glass Onion's script also feels a bit more modern in terms of its dialogue, cultural references, and its subversion of common mystery tropes. Knives Out also modernizes old mystery tropes, but Glass Onion takes it a step or two further by using the expectations created by the first movie to make its own story less predictable.

4 Knives Out Has A Better Script

Knives Out and Glass Onion both have widely acclaimed scripts, but Knives Out's is a masterpiece that Glass Onion is not quite able to reproduce. The plot in Knives Out is more believable and interesting, and the pacing is perfect. Knives Out also has more timeless dialogue that focuses on the events of the story and is less reliant on cultural references. Glass Onion does most of the things Knives Out does; it just doesn't do them quite as well.

3 Glass Onion Is Funnier

Humor is a subjective thing, but generally speaking, Glass Onion has more comedic moments and a larger focus on creating laughs than Knives Out does. Glass Onion is more light-hearted in general, which allows for more humor. It also makes Benoit Blanc into a goofier character than he is in Knives Out, which leads to some pretty funny moments. Moreover, Glass Onion has a cast that's more experienced in comedy, which allows it to weave much more humor into the script.

2 Knives Out Feels More Intimate Despite Its Larger Cast

One of the most important things that makes Knives Out better than Glass Onion is the more intimate feel the film creates. Knives Out follows a family and examines the complex, interconnecting relationships between its members. Glass Onion's premise gets a bit wider as the tech empire of Miles Bron becomes central to the story. In Knives Out, the story is more focused on the Thrombeys, which helps keep it contained and grounded. This makes the whole movie feel more convincing and realistic.

1 Glass Onion Has A Better Plot Twist

Glass Onion could be considered better than Knives Out because of its big plot twist about halfway through the film. The reveal that Andi is already dead comes as a genuine shock to the audience, and it's a much bigger, more audacious twist than anything done in Knives Out. While Knives Out has several critical twists that change the course of the story, it has nothing as big and jarring as the Andi reveal in Glass Onion.