Courtesy of Bartos Gyorgy

This poster featuring Daniel Craig as Det. Benoit Blanc was created by a fan of the series.

The first “Knives Out” movie (2019) was a surprise hit, earning $312 million globally, and the sequel — “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (2022) — broke several streaming records on Netflix. 

On the other hand, the most recent addition to the “Knives Out” series, “Wake Up Dead Man,” felt like a waste of my time.

The series’ latest installment follows Father Jud (played by Josh O’Connor), who gets in trouble with the archdiocese and gets banished to Chimney Rock, N.Y., to help with the struggling and odd congregation there. He finds a tight-knit community led by the commanding and dictatorial Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). 

Amid Father Jud’s conflict with Wicks, the latter is found dead in a closed-room murder. The main suspect: Jud. To assist in their investigation, the local police force, helmed by Detective Scott (Mila Kunis),  brings in elite detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig).

Marketed as a whodunnit thriller murder mystery, I was expecting the same level of plot complexity and intriguing hints that the other movies in the series had. Other movies focused on incorporating little clues throughout the movie and fleshing out supporting characters.

However, I felt that this movie was based around Jud’s character development rather than developing the actual plot. Other movies such as “Glass Onion” also focused much more on Blanc’s investigative process, taking us through his interviews and his thought process; for “Wake Up Dead Man,” though, nearly every scene in this movie features Jud. 

We barely get to know the supporting characters, even when the movie is almost two-and-a-half hours long. While I have enjoyed O’Connor’s performance in some of his other works like “The Durrells” and “The Crown,” spending nearly 120 minutes on his acting felt desperately excessive.

On the other hand, the filming location, the Holy Innocents Church in High Beech just outside of London, is beautiful to take in. The lush forestry and the intricate stonework of the church add to the mystery and allure of the movie. The costume and set design as a whole is visually pleasing and the cinematic shots were lovely. 

The scene where Wicks is found dead was one of my favorites, as it occurs in the middle of Jud’s sermon, and the circumstances make him the most obvious suspect. The bulk of the plot (how and why the murder was committed) unfolds only in the last five or 10 minutes. That was pretty interesting, but not interesting enough to be worth 120 minutes of my life.

I would have enjoyed the movie more if they developed the plot over the course of a shorter movie, or increased the complexity to fit the time frame. With the added pressure of having to live up to the last two “Knives Out” movies, it fell short. I wouldn’t recommend this movie unless you’re crazy for Josh O’Connor or love cinematography.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Falcons