Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery is a Dud
Wake Up Dead Man, the third entry into writer-director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out series, is far from awful, but, considering the critical acclaim it’s received, is a major disappointment and extremely overrated.
I was a fan of Johnson’s initial mystery film, 2019’s Knives Out. That movie features an ensemble cast of colorful characters, led at the forefront by Benoit Blanc, a private investigator with a talent for solving seemingly unsolvable murder mysteries. This setup has been the basis for the second Knives Out movie, The Glass Onion, as well as this most recent entry, Wake Up Dead Man. I’d argue that each subsequent entry has offered diminishing returns in terms of both enjoyment and quality.
I think that there’s a definite appetite amongst audiences for the sort of fun, Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery that the Knives Out series is aspiring to offer. When considering what all three movies do well, all do a great job presenting us with our cast/suspects, and with setting everything up in a fun, whodunit manner. The movies are well-put together yet maintain a light attitude despite the fact that we’re dealing with murder — and that’s a tone that I believe appeals to lots of viewers.
Unfortunately, Wake Up Dead Man fails to live up to its predecessors. For a movie that’s supposed to be mainly a enjoyable murder mystery, it’s fine to have some commentary about the current state of America in your story, but here it sort of dominates the story. That makes the film a lot less fun.
Wake Up Dead Man presents us with a church led by the domineering Monsignor Wicks. Wicks spreads hate to his flock, whose members are nearly as distasteful as he is. Those attending Wicks’ services, to Johnson, no doubt, represent some of the worst aspects of American society today. We get characters like an aspiring politician who posts Wicks’ hateful sermons online and a bitter doctor.
Having mainly characters portrayed negatively in a movie isn’t necessarily bad, but Johnson doesn’t have much commentary on the matter except for saying, “Isn’t it bad that people are like this nowadays? Look at how bad they all are.”
The main character we’re following is a young priest named Father Jud who’s sent to the church to be assistant pastor. If I had liked Jud’s character more, I think I would’ve had a better time with Wake Up Dead Man. As he is, I found him equal parts goobery and preachy. He’s supposed to come off as endearing, but I don’t think he’s even close to being as relatable or likeable as someone like Ana de Armas’ character in the first Knives Out.
Benoit Blanc doesn’t show up until we’re already decently into our story and I found myself liking him less than I did in earlier movies. He’s never been believable as a real person, but he almost feels increasingly goofy here.
None of my issues with character would matter if the Wake Up Dead Man delivered an intriguing murder mystery. Sadly, the story is extremely weak. You expect a film like this to have some great twists and turns, but Wake Up Dead Man is very predictable.
I’m no amateur sleuth and even I was able to have a solid idea of exactly where the story was going to go. In a murder mystery, I want surprises that make sense and some good red herrings throwing me off the scent. We don’t get that here.
Overall, I get what the Knives Out series is trying to be, and I think people are excited to watch a fun whodunit that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Still, I view Wake Up Dead Man as a big misstep – a film that follows an unlikeable cast through a long, predictable mystery.
Grade: 4.5/10