<em>Glass Onion </em>Understands the Absurdity of Extreme Wealth

Glass Onion begins with a puzzle—or rather, a series of puzzles. Each of the new characters in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out sequel receives an intricate box packed with gears and motors that crank out riddles and codes. Once they’re deciphered, the package unveils an invitation to a weekend getaway on a remote island owned by a wealthy acquaintance. It’s a classic murder-mystery setup. But the true pleasure comes not from the cleverness of the puzzles, but from the recipients’ split-screened reactions, which efficiently reveal their personalities and gripes.

The best whodunits, after all, understand that the most compelling questionaren’t merely playing a game; they are desperate to cover up their past misdeeds. Johnson’s particularly twisty follows that formula: The murderer acts out of not only greed, but also jealousy over his victim’s .