Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery has hit Netflix and with that has come a lot of opinions about Rian Johnson’s second whodunnit. While plenty of people just don’t like it in the way they enjoyed Knives Out (and that’s fine!), many are angry at this movie for reasons that are actively hilarious. Ben Shapiro is furious that a murder mystery tricked him, some people seem to be angry or confused that these new characters exist instead of revisiting the original’s, and a lot of people on social media are also branding the movie too “polarizing” thanks to the commentary it’s making.
Yes, it turns out that a movie that mocks billionaires and right-wing figureheads isn’t working so well on that side of social media. (Those people must really not have seen Knives Out because Benoit Blanc describes young Jacob Thrombey as the “masturbating Nazi child” in that movie.)
Dave Bautista’s Duke angered the Andrew Tate/Joe Rogan fans
Duke Cody (Dave Bautista) is a character who thrives on the men who feel like they have been emasculated by society. He pushes male-enhancement pills and has a fan base of gross manbabies who think they are the definition of what a man should be and they continue to uplift him on his platform. So, you know, your Andrew Tates and your Joe Rogans.
So a character like him that is being poked fun at (but is also charming because it is Dave Bautista) is probably not winning over the Men’s Rights crowd. But that would also require that these “fans” of people like Tate and Rogan are smart enough to realize that a character like Duke Cody is making fun of them.
Elon fans are for sure angry.
In a movie that really is a masterclass in predicting the goddamn future, Rian Johnson weaves Miles Bron into this movie that seems eerily similar to what has been happening on Twitter recently with Elon Musk. The public-facing billionaire who paraded himself as a genius being trash and ridiculed by those who can really see him is…well, what is happening with Elon Musk.
So that part of the movie isn’t exactly inviting to those who love and support Elon. Which again, if you watched Glass Onion and are mad that Benoit Blanc called an Elon Musk-esque figure “dumb”—when he objectively is!—then maybe you should do some self-reflection.
COVID happened!
One of the biggest complaints I’ve seen about the movie is that it recognizes that COVID happened. All of these characters are so self-absorbed that they jump at the chance to fly to their friend’s private island to get away from their homes when the pandemic is, frankly, fresh. It is May of 2020 when we start the movie meaning they’ve been in it for roughly two months and are eager to jump ship.
Their problems with the pandemic are quickly solved because Miles seemingly made a cure/vaccine that instead of mass producing, he gives to his friends (via his assistant Ethan Hawke) so that they’re safe throughout their visit and lives. Meaning that this man maybe figured out a vaccine and then just didn’t give it to the public.
Granted, what we know about Miles Bron after the fact makes it questionable what he actually gave these individuals but that’s not the point. The point is that he has the money to change the world and is instead using it for his own selfish benefit. And look, I get it. We like to pretend COVID isn’t a thing in the movies we’re watching but this was the best use I have seen of it yet.
The movie is not for everyone!
Again, if you just don’t like Glass Onion as a piece of cinema, that’s fine! But if you’re one of those people out there aggressively all-caps screaming at someone who did, you’re sure not coming off as part of the good-faith criticism brigade. You just sound angry that the movie made fun of billionaires.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is now available to watch on Netflix and I say let’s keep on watching it just to make people angry that it is the number one movie there.
(image: Netflix)
