Knives Out 3: Wake Up Dead Man has received mixed to positive reviews since its release on Netflix on December 12, 2025. Critics and audiences are divided on its place within the franchise, with strong opinions on its thematic depth, character focus, and tonal shift.
Critical Reception Overview
Roger Ebert praised the film as an "ambitious delight", highlighting its exploration of faith, logic, and division in modern society. The review called it "one of the best scripts from one of the best writers of his generation", noting its visual beauty and emotional resonance, though it acknowledged the mystery is slightly too convoluted to solve easily. Rating: 3.5/4.
Beyond Me Btw (Medium) gave a harsher critique, calling it a "just miss" with a 3/10 score. The reviewer lamented the underutilized ensemble cast, muted tone, and the shift of focus from Benoit Blanc to Josh O’Connor’s Father Jud, which weakened the whodunnit tension. They noted the film lacked the energy and personality of the first two entries.
SlashFilm offered a balanced take, rating it 7/10. They appreciated its political relevance and the layered satire of religious extremism, calling it the "most overtly political entry yet". However, they criticized the underuse of supporting characters despite a stacked cast.
Metacritic reflects a polarized response, with one user calling it "the worst of the three", while others lauded its complexity and ambition.
Audience & Reddit Reactions
On Reddit, opinions are split. Some fans rank it second, praising its nuanced portrayal of religion, strong performances (especially Josh O’Connor and Josh Brolin), and thematic depth. Others find it too complex or slow, with some feeling the mystery becomes hard to follow in the second half.
A recurring theme is the narrative shift toward Father Jud as the emotional and narrative center, which some see as a bold evolution, while others feel it undermines the franchise’s signature ensemble mystery.
Key Themes & Strengths
Religious Satire: The film critiques how institutions exploit faith for power, using Monsignor Wicks (Josh Brolin) as a stand-in for demagogic leaders.
Character Depth: Father Jud’s internal struggle with faith, anger, and redemption is the film’s emotional core.
Visual Style: The film features a cozy, rainy, overcast aesthetic, with striking use of light and shadow, contrasting with the bright, surreal setting of Glass Onion.
Final Verdict
While Knives Out 3 may not reach the heights of the original Knives Out, it is widely seen as a bold, thematically rich, and visually compelling evolution of the franchise. It trades the lighthearted mystery tone for a darker, more introspective story — a "whydunit" over a "whodunit" — that resonates with current social and political tensions.
Bottom Line: A strong, divisive entry — not the best in the series, but a thought-provoking and well-crafted film for fans of Rian Johnson’s evolving vision.
I'm not sure if I'm jumping the gun here since the movie just came out last night and there will probably be an official thread soon but I just saw it a couple hours ago and I'm dying to see some discussion about it. Really adored this one; much better than Glass Onion and honestly might surpass the first on rewatch. It's a lot more centered on its central character (Josh O'Connor's, not Benoit) than the previous entries and I think that narrower focus gave it a much richer emotional and thematic core. There is still at least one "contemporary conservative" caricature but the film doesn't really beat you over the head with its satire like Glass Onion did, which was a much needed change of pace. Its critique and reflections on religion didn't come off as heavy-handed at all and I thought it was much more nuanced and compelling than the "eat-the-rich" stories of the previous entries (although I still adore the first film). The only thing is that a lot of the suspect-list is underutilized (don't expect much from Andrew Scott for example) but the characters that do get the spotlight make it feel worth it.
Videos
Official Discussion - Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery [SPOILERS]
'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery' - Review Thread
Official 'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery' Discussion Thread
With the third movie out, rank all the Knives out movies and give me some reasons as to why! (NO SPOILERS!)
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Rankings
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Summary Detective Benoit Blanc returns to solve his most dangerous case yet. Set against a darker backdrop than his previous investigations, the mystery pulls Blanc into a web of secrets, betrayal, and buried sins where every suspect has something to hide—and the truth may come at a deadly cost.
Director Rian Johnson
Writer Rian Johnson
Cast
Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc
Josh O’Connor
Glenn Close
Josh Brolin
Mila Kunis
Jeremy Renner
Kerry Washington
Andrew Scott
Cailee Spaeny
Daryl McCormack
Thomas Haden Church
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Metacritic: 81
VOD / Release On Netflix
Trailer Official Trailer
World-renowned detective Benoit Blanc returns for his most dangerous case yet.
Director: Rian Johnson
Cast: Daniel Craig, Cailee Spaeney, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Mila Kunis, Thomas Haden Church, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Kerry Washington, Josh O'Connor
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Metacritic: 85/100
Some Reviews:
Variety - Owen Glieberman
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is an enticingly clever and droll, nearly pitch-perfect piece of murder-mystery fun — a whodunit that lives up to the expectations set six years ago by “Knives Out,” which offered its own perfect revival of the Agatha Christie spirit, with a tasty frosting of meta cheekiness.
TheWrap - Chase Hutchinson
Although “Wake Up Dead Man” is the “Knives Out” movie that’s most preoccupied with existential questions surrounding death, writer/director Rian Johnson’s third film in the series is also the one that’s most full of life.
DEADLINE - Damon Wise
After the bright, light, summery holiday special that was Glass Onion, the Knives Out franchise returns to its gothic roots with a wintry whodunit that, for some at least, might endure as the the best one yet. Where the first and second used the murder-mystery as a jumping-off point for some very funny contemporary satire, Wake Up Dead Man is much more introspective. In a funny way, it’s a little analogous to Joker 2, not because it unloads on its audience in the same acerbic way but because it poses similarly metaphysical questions about its own popularity. Why do people respond so eagerly to stories of murder and betrayal? To answer that, director Rian Johnson goes back to the greatest story ever told, using a small religious community as the setting for the third instalment.
IndieWire - Kate Erbland - 'B+'
It works, and it’s no big mystery why — Johnson knows his form and format, and delivers on it, playing with tone and message but never losing sight of why these stories are so damn entertaining to watch and unravel.
Awards Radar - Joey Magidson - 3.5 / 4
Filmmaker Rian Johnson trusts the strength of his franchise to play around with format and theme. The gothic elements on display, as well as the religious aspect, may initially seem like a left turn, but it all ends up fitting like a glove. He knows the must haves for a Knives Out flick and absolutely delivers. A few big sequences here at TIFF received ovations once completed. You just can feel that you’re in the hands of a master storyteller, so you’ll follow him anywhere. Johnson knows that and 100% makes the most of it.
The Daily Beast - Nick Schager
In terms of pure, heady kicks, it outpaces Knives Out but falls just short of Glass Onion. In the big picture, however, such distinctions are rather inconsequential; more important is that Johnson’s franchise remains a sly and sure-footed delight, as well as demonstrates, with its religiously minded latest, that it’s capable of coloring its Christie-esque mysteries in a variety of shades.