Greed, disruptors, and murder. A triple threat. “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” depicts the idea that greed can lead to murder. Not only does this take a spin on the original “Knives Out” (2019), but also includes elements from other murder mystery movies such as “Clue” (1985).

“Glass Onion” is a who-dunnit murder mystery starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, the detective. He is the main character in both the movies–”Knives Out” and “Glass Onion”–and uncovers each of the murders. This sequel is a little different though. The movie starts with introducing characters, who the audience later finds out are friends of Miles Bron, a billionaire. The characters, Claire (Kathryn Hahn), Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr.), Duke (Dave Bautista), Birdie (Kate Hudson), and her assistant, Peg (Jessica Henwick), are on the phone with each other attempting to open a puzzle box sent by Miles.

A scene later, the audience is re-introduced to Blanc who states that he struggled through Covid-19 as he was not able to solve many murder cases. He explains that when he received a puzzle box, that all changed. Blanc explains that he doesn’t know Miles, but took it seriously as when he opened the box, a letter was inside inviting him to a mystery to solve Miles’ death.

The group of friends arrive at the meeting place to take a boat to Miles’s private island, but are confused when Andi (Janelle Monáe), Miles’s ex-business partner, shows up. Prior to the game, Andi was planning on suing Miles for stealing her idea that ended up making him billions. This draws suspicion from the friends, who are well-aware of the situation and as to why she attended the trip.

With the already present confusion, it grows even further when Blanc shows up. None of them claim to have invited him, all of which leads to further confusion. Blanc assumes he’s there to solve a murder…but little does he know, this isn’t real, it’s just a game Miles created to get all of his friends together for a reunion.

Andi showing up surprises Miles, which adds a twist to the movie we didn’t get in the original “Knives Out.” This update includes details we’re not used to seeing on the screen. An example of this is the introduction of Covid-19 in the movie. At the beginning, the audience sees how the virus was affecting the characters’ lives in 2020, and not many movies include the pandemic.

The director of the “Knives Out” series, Rian Johnson, portrayed similar plot lines in each movie, but with its own twists and turns to make them different. We get a taste of elements from the original movie in the sequel, such as similar character backgrounds, in which they all know each other prior to the murders. Other elements are the general reactions and plot line between the two, but the sequel adds spice that the first Knives Out didn’t have.

The overall message of the movie is how rich and greedy people cause disruptions to get what they want. That’s what Miles and his friends all had in common–every person who was there (aside from Blanc and Andi) got money supplied by Miles. This shows how greed can lead to evil things, such as murder.

What starts as a game, ends in death. Duke (who was later killed) discovers that Andi actually died days beforehand, and her twin sister Helen (who was pretending to be Andi throughout the movie) hired Blanc to uncover her sister’s murder.

Blanc in the end uncovers the real murderer as Miles. To the audience, it wasn’t much of a surprise by that point, knowing the whole story. Compared to the original “Knives Out,” “Glass Onion” shows much more involvement with characters. We receive a backstory for the majority of them, which helps viewers look into the story with more knowledge. But the inevitable greed and envy, that are shown in this movie, show how much it really costs to be a billionaire.