Wake Up Dead Man (2025) is written & directed by Rian Johnson. It stars Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Glenn Close, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church, Annie Hamilton, James Faulkner, and Bridget Everett. After the mysterious murder of Jefferson Wicks (Brolin), a troubled reverend with a cult-like following, detective Benoit Blanc (Craig) travels to the remote church in an attempt to crack the case. When the police and congregation single out the parish’s new young pastor, Jud Duplenticy (O’Connor), as the prime suspect, Blanc soon uncovers information that says otherwise. Now working in tandem, Blanc and Jud set out to investigate the seemingly impossible circumstances of Wicks’ death. Unfortunately, the more the two uncover, the stranger the mystery becomes.

Daniel Craig gives his most well-rounded take on the character of Benoit Blanc, less mythologized than Knives Out (2019) and less quirky than Glass Onion (2022). He’s more well-rounded, serious, and subdued here. This makes the character a bit less larger-than-life but also much more grounded/authentic. This script asks the character to grapple with existential questions that challenge his view of humanity. It’s a welcome direction for a third film, and adds weight to the investigation’s possible outcome. This sets the stakes slightly higher than those of the first two installments, a challenge most sequels struggle with.

Despite this being the weakest cast of suspects in the series so far, the ensemble remains impressive. Certain characters end up feeling superfluous and are seemingly solely intended as red herrings. They serve the role well, but fail to stick in one’s memory. I needed more time with these people, but the only one we really get to know is Josh O’Connor’s Jud. This lack of understanding helps the characters maintain a sense of mystery, making each equally believable as the killer. In terms of intrigue, it might be the strongest entry yet; I just wish I could say the same of the characters themselves. Thankfully, not a single performance feels like a letdown despite the characters being somewhat forgettable on the page. The standout is easily Josh O’Connor as Jud, Blanc’s newest chosen sidekick. His boxer-turned-pastor backstory is a tough one to resist, but he’s also the first of Blanc’s “sidekicks” who is as likely the killer as anyone else.  

Three films in, certain commonalities in Johnson’s writing begin to rear their heads. However, he seems to have recognized these creative tendencies and thus uses them to subvert our expectations. Whether it’s expository flashbacks or a suspect becoming a sidekick, Johnson remixes these tropes in ways we haven’t yet seen in the franchise. As soon as you think you know where this story is going, it twists, turns, and zigzags in a new, unexpected direction. This happens so many times that you’re eventually surprised not by the twists themselves, but the simple fact that another one even exists. 

The humor here is as strong as in the first two installments. All of the jokes feel natural to the situations in which they occur, a choice that supports the film’s darker humor. Some of the jokes, especially one visual gag involving Jeremy Renner’s character, are surprisingly mean-spirited, but in this particular case, infinitely funnier because of it. It’s also impressive that the film incorporates a heavy dose of religion/spirituality without ever feeling like it’s trying to validate or invalidate certain beliefs. The opposing beliefs of Benoit and Jud (who is designed to be immediately likable) represent both sides of the debate, but we’re never asked to take a side. These two treat their differences as a learning opportunity, a dynamic that leads to compelling ideas that challenge everyone, religious or not. The film eventually works as a warning that although we should each generally hold strong to our individual opinions and beliefs, we should always leave room for those beliefs to be challenged, and thus either solidified or dismantled. 

Overall, this is yet another exciting, funny, and endlessly twisty murder-mystery from writer-director Rian Johnson, who at this point may have solidified himself as the most prolific filmmaker this genre has to offer. Daniel Craig is once again excellent as Benoit Blanc, and the supporting ensemble all give strong performances. My only gripe is that I could’ve used more focus on the individual suspects, but at almost 2.5 hours long, I don’t see how much could’ve been added. That being said, the film completely earns its runtime. I laughed, gasped, and even shed a few unexpected tears. What else can you ask for? B+