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The first time I watched Knives Out, I loved it; however, I think it suffers from a lack of rewatchability. Mystery movies are perhaps the most important films when it comes to a first-time viewing, because they require you to be fully locked in and guessing the whole time. Once you’ve seen it and know all of the answers, most of them just don’t hold up at all on recurring viewings. I wouldn’t say that Knives Out doesn’t hold up at all on rewatch, but rather it doesn’t hold up as well on rewatch. Thankfully, there is plenty of other substance to the story than just the mystery part of it that makes it interesting and intriguing.

So while I have had a hard time fully locking in on both of my rewatches, I would still say that Knives Out holds up in several other ways. For one, the story isn’t at all traditional for a mystery movie. Sure, the whole thing with the family having a member commit suicide randomly sounds somewhat generic, but what the film does with that premise is far removed from any other mystery movie I’ve seen. The story is constantly throwing you off with its twists and turns, and not just with the “who done it” aspect of it, but like I said, the actual story. It’s not just about a mystery, which is why I would say this still holds up okay on rewatch.

The family aspect is definitely one of the more interesting aspects of the movie. Practically none of the family members are at all likable, and they all act and say things that make them suspicious, which is obviously something that a mystery movie should do. They always have you guessing, and when you think that a specific person is the most likely one behind everything, the movie throws you a curveball. It’s an excellent film if you want something that is going to make you think hard.

But the most interesting and most compelling aspect of the movie is definitely the two leads, the detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, and the family nurse Marta Cabrera, played by Ana de Armas. Both actors give tremendous performances on top of their characters already being excellently written. Blanc feels somewhat distant from the audience, but his odd traits and mysteriousness make him a super intriguing character. Marta, on the other hand, is an incredibly genuine person, but not so genuine that it’s on the nose, and you in fact. want to root for her. Her “gimmick” is also quite fun and funny, and actually comes into play with the story once in a while.

Rian Johnson also directed this really well. The movie has this almost cozy feel to it despite what’s happening in the story, and it makes for a really unique experience. There’s also some good but not over-the-top comedy at times that I think added to the movie. I’m eager to see where he takes this in both Glass Onion, which I still haven’t seen, and Wake Up Dead Man.

So to sum things up, this is a very solid movie that just unfortunately doesn't hold up as well on rewatch for me.