“Wake Up Dead Man” review

*The following article contains spoilers for Wake Up Dead Man*

Back in December, Netflix released Wake up Dead Man, the third installment in the Knives Out series following detective Benoit Blanc. This one takes place in a small town, and follows a Catholic priest named Jud. Jud is sent to help Father Jefferson Wicks to help retain more regulars at his church. But Father Jud learns that Father Wicks, called Monsignor Wicks, is not all that he seems. He has a flock of seven regulars all who have something wrong with them. 

Simone was a world class Cello player who now lives in unexplained chronic pain and hopes that the church and Wicks can cure her. Martha is a loyal worker to the church who is faithful and holds the place together. Other supporting characters include: Martha’s husband, Sam, who is much more into baseball than church, Lee, a failed writer hoping to pin his next big literary win on the Monsignor, Dr. Nat, a doctor who lost his wife and children and is struggling with piecing his life back together amid having a drinking problem, Vera, the lawyer who in her father’s footsteps, runs the local practices and the church, and lastly, Vera’s adopted son Cy, who is a politician wannabe and the wedlock son of Vera’s father whom she was forced to raise.

The inciting incident of the film occurs when Monsignor is murdered in a locked door mystery. Due to the unsolvable nature of the mystery, the local police call in world-class detective Benoit Blanc. Blanc then begins to dig into the past of the church including the Monsignor’s Grandfather’s fortune, his daughter known by everyone as the “harlot whore” and the mysteries that further unravel as the investigation continues.

The movie stars Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, Josh O’Connor as Father Jud, Josh Brolin as Monsignor Wicks, as well several others such as Andrew Scott, Thomas Haden Church, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Glenn Close, and many more.

I enjoyed this film, though I felt it did not quite measure up to the last installment. Despite this, I still think it was an overall good movie. It lacks the funny and unique style of humor that the prior installments had. However, in terms of the plot I found it to be the best out of the three. The premise and concept of the movie was different from the others and provided a different perspective on the classic murder-mystery trope. As for the acting, I think that there was nothing wrong with nor nothing that stood out about the cast. Overall, I would give this movie about a four and half out of five; I like it but there was nothing extra special about it.

The cast of the film includes:  

Josh Brolin- Wicks

Cailee Spaeny- Simone

Glenn Close- Martha

Andrew Scott- Lee

Thomas Haden Church- Sam

Jeremy Renner- Dr. Nat

Daryl McCormack- Cy

Kerry Washington- Vera