Glass Onion Confirms One James Bond Tragedy


Daniel Craig’s James Bond movies were light on comedy, but Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery shows audiences what they missed out on.


WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Glass Onion: A Knives Out MysteryDaniel Craig’s role as Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery reveals a missed opportunity in his James Bond movies. The second entry in Johnson’s comic murder mystery franchise has been a huge hit on Netflix and perfectly flips Craig’s previous role as 007. As much as James Bond was a ruthless secret agent, many movies prior to Craig’s casting had a degree of comedy and whimsy to balance the darkness of Bond’s activities.

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With Daniel Craig’s Bond going out in memorable style in No Time to Die, the actor appears to be embracing much lighter roles – and demonstrating a real gift for comedy. Glass Onion is a perfect example of Craig’s lighter side, something that his more serious spy role wasn’t able to fully showcase in the same manner. Roles like Benoit Blanc or Craig’s new Belvedere vodka ad emphasize something that was largely missing from Daniel Craig’s portrayal of James Bond – light-heartedness.

RELATED: Why Roger Moore Thought Daniel Craig Was The Best James Bond Actor


Glass Onion Proves Daniel Craig Would’ve Been A Great Light-Hearted Bond

Benoit Blanc at home in Glass Onion

As Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion, Daniel Craig still gets to wear sharp suits, drink cocktails, visit an exotic location, and face off against an egotistical billionaire villain. These are all components of a Bond movie, but in the hands of Rian Johnson, they become something else entirely. However, unlike the majority of Craig’s Bond movies, Glass Onion isn’t afraid to go for big characters or embrace silliness. Indeed, the genius of Glass Onion‘s killer reveal is in the stupidity of billionaire Miles Bron. Because the actors are playing it with conviction, the comedy never feels silly – a criticism leveled at the Pierce Brosnan Bond movies that preceded Craig’s casting.

Daniel Craig’s conviction to the comedy of Glass Onion demonstrates how great he would have been as a more light-hearted Bond. In the wrong hands, Benoit Blanc could be an over-the-top caricature, but Craig keeps him grounded, albeit in the heightened reality of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out franchise. It’s clear from Glass Onion that Daniel Craig would have brought the same conviction to a light-hearted Bond if he had been given the opportunity. However, the excesses of the Brosnan era and Mike Myers’ Bond spoof Austin Powers led to both Daniel Craig and the studio being more cautious about comedy in the Bond franchise.

Why Daniel Craig’s James Bond Movies Make Knives Out Even Better

Daniel Craig as James Bond in No Time to Die and as Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion

With Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and James Bond himself, both Glass Onion and No Time to Die climax with icons in flames; a subtle parallel between the Knives Out and Bond franchises. Although Benoit Blanc isn’t a secret agent, there’s a certain delight that James Bond fans can take in watching the Knives Out movies. There has always been degree of crossover between the murder mystery and the espionage thriller, so through Rian Johnson’s Knives Out franchise, audiences can get a sense of what Daniel Craig’s more comedic Bond movies could have looked like.

This lends an added dimension of enjoyment to the already incredibly enjoyable Benoit Blanc movies. Benoit is just as stylish as Bond, just as charming, and better yet, far more respectful of women. Craig will always be best known for James Bond, and Johnson’s writing of the character of Benoit Blanc uses this to its advantage. In perfectly flipping Daniel Craig’s most famous role, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery becomes even better by emphasizing what Bond is currently missing, and also shows just what a gifted and multi-faceted actor Craig is.

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