Knives Out (2019)

Directed by Rian Johnson, this is a brilliant parody of a classic Agatha Christie-style murder mystery. 

Daniel Craig stars as the detective Benoit Blanc, who is hired to investigate the suspicious death of a hugely successful crime novelist named Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). All of Harlan’s family stand to gain from his will, and all of them have a motive for killing him. So who actually committed the murder?

Craig’s “deep south” accent takes some getting used to, but he’s compelling in the role nevertheless. Ana de Armas is perfect as Marta Cabrera, Harlan’s kindhearted nurse who becomes inextricably mixed up in the events and who – in a surreal twist – cannot tell a lie without vomiting.

It works because alongside the mystery needing to be unravelled there’s also an intriguing portrait of a dysfunctional family. And in a surprisingly old-fashioned way, the film seems to offer a simple moral about kindness.

A sequel followed in 2022.

No Time to Die (2021)

Famously much-delayed by the Coronavirus pandemic, the 25th James Bond film finally hit cinemas in September 2021 – five years after work on it first began. There was a lot of additional baggage because we knew in advance that it would be the final episode starring Daniel Craig. With plenty of threads to tie up, there was a lot it had to achieve to be a truly satisfying finale. Unfortunately, despite plenty of striking moments, it doesn’t quite deliver. 

On the downside there’s a somewhat muddled plot that lacks the graceful coherence of the storylines in Skyfall and Spectre. Some of the gimmicks are tired, too: a secret base on a remote island really wasn’t very original. And while it’s nice to see the familiar gang back together – with welcome returns for Jeffrey Wright (as Felix), Ralph Fiennes (M), Ben Whishaw (Q) and Rory Kinnear (Tanner), all of whom suddenly look a lot older – it’s odd that the roles of Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) seem to have been minimised. Other limitations include a silly Russian scientist played by David Dencik and a hammy main villain played by Rami Malek. The latter was unconvincing as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody and is just as unconvincing here – especially when delivering his ponderous speeches. The whole film seems a little underwritten, and even a rival “00” agent (Lashana Lynch as Nomi) doesn’t quite come to life as a character. 

On the plus side, the action sequences are vivid and exciting, and Hans Zimmer’s musical score maximises the drama. Daniel Craig has a magnetic charm, if a little less sparkle than usual. And Léa Seydoux is fully believable as Bond’s on/off lover Madeleine Swann. The introduction of a child character (Madeleine’s daughter) also adds a new dimension to the series. The most entertaining section features an evening-gowned Cuban agent named Paloma (Ana de Armas), who briefly assists Bond with martial-arts kicks and a cheery energy that’s otherwise lacking in a rather dour 163 minutes. 

The shock ending – really not what I expected – raises some big questions about the future of the franchise. I wish the film hadn’t concluded the way it does, but we are assured that somehow or other James Bond will return.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

A sequel to the 1982 masterpiece, set 30 years later. Ryan Gosling plays K, the replicant seeking answers about his origins. It transpires that in one unprecedented instance, a replicant gave birth. That replicant was Rachael from the first film. K’s discovery of this knowledge begins a quest that ultimately leads him to Deckard (Harrison Ford), who he believes to be his father. But the sinister Wallace Corporation also wants to understand replicant breeding for its own ends.

It's visually stunning – possibly even more so than the original – and asks similarly deep philosophical questions about life, identity and memory. For a few reasons, though, Denis Villeneuve's film does not satisfy in the way that Ridley Scott’s does. Firstly, it’s simply too long (163 minutes). Some of the scenes are ponderous and slow. You can sit back to admire the expansive, luxurious quality or you can become infuriated with the glacial pace. The villains (Sylvia Hoeks and Jared Leto) didn’t quite convince. And too much of the film was given over to Gosling’s time with his synthetic “hologram” girlfriend (Ana de Armas). I liked her as a character, but – other than filling in details of how relationships and technology work in 2049 – this plot didn’t really lead anywhere. 

Harrison Ford’s appearance was surprisingly successful. I had feared it would be a tokenistic attempt to drag the star of the original back on screen for the sake of “sequel credibility”, but they wisely built the plot around him – even though he’s barely in it. And unlike in Star Wars Episode VII, where he’s depicted as the same Han Solo except older, with no character development at all, here he seems wiser and not in any way ridiculous.

I’d like to see it again, and on a big screen. With the plot twists now fully understood, I think I could get more out of it on second viewing.