“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” is, you guessed it, the sequel to Rian Johnson’s 2019 murder mystery “Knives Out.”

“Glass Onion” features only one returning character from “Knives Out”: detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). A group of friends are invited to a weekend getaway at fellow friend and tech billionaire Miles Bron’s (Edward Norton) private Greek island, where his murder mystery game suddenly becomes real.

Having not seen the original since it came out, I won’t try to compare the two. What I will say is that “Glass Onion” is fantastic.

For starters, Johnson’s screenplay is great. “Glass Onion” is funny, creative and leaves you guessing as the layers of the mystery are slowly peeled back. Despite being filmed last year and being set in the pandemic (which could easily date it), the movie has a certain timelessness to it and is able to tackle social issues in a way that feels more relevant now than even when it was filmed.

While “Glass Onion” has an admittedly slow start, once it starts moving it doesn’t stop until the very last second.

The cast all give great performances, with some highlights being another lively performance by Craig’s Benoit

Blanc and Janelle Monáe’s portrayal of Cassandra Brand. The ensemble features a slew of complex characters, many of them being satirical of current social issues which leads to some humorous moments. The chemistry between the cast is what really sells the movie.

The design throughout the movie is great; from the puzzle box that each main character receives their invitation into the extravagant mansion, the sets are nothing less than eye-candy. The mansion, and the island it’s built on, make for a series of great set-pieces for this mystery to unfold.

Nathan Johnson’s score is excellent throughout, and the main theme for the movie is incredible.

Despite all of its great elements, “Glass Onion” highlights a huge issue present in the streaming age. In 2021, Netflix spent $469 million to acquire “Glass Onion” and another “Knives Out” sequel. “Glass Onion” is estimated to make $15 million in its extremely limited release—only being in select theaters for one week. It makes you wonder why Netflix almost seems to insist on losing money with bizarre release decisions like this.

While I would urge you to run to see “Glass Onion” in theaters, it’s likely already too late. However, you will be able to stream this excellent murder mystery on Netflix starting in December, which I highly recommend you do.