With a wealth of acting talent and a whip-smart storyline, Knives Out has the familiar tone of a murder mystery but with enough humour and originality to give it a fresh makeover.

When lucrative mystery novelist and patriarch Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) dies in a gruesome manner after his 85^th birthday, his family members are all in the firing line of southern Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). In a comical turn for 007’s Craig, Blanc pulls motives out of the Thrombeys causing rifts and chaos aplenty until it seems that no one is safe from suspicion.

Set largely in Thrombey’s sprawling manor, Blanc expertly puts the pieces of the puzzle together and has a lot of fun along the way.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), Knives Out has a great script which the extensive cast ham up completely – in a good way.

At the centre of the unfolding drama is Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), the slain patriarch’s kind-hearted nurse with secrets of her own. De Armas plays her virtuously, albeit with a few “gags” of her own.

Chris Evans as the bratty and entitled grandson pulls off the smarminess to a tee and Toni Collette’s influencer/wellness guru Joni pokes fun at modern day fads.

With twists and turns right until the last moment, Knives Out will keep you guessing from start-to-finish and shows just how greedy, spiteful and malicious family can be when a vast fortune is at stake. It’s all in jest, though, and makes for a rollicking good time at the cinema.