It’s no shock that if you look, you’ll find classier, more sophisticated and more important films than Knives Out this year.

But for sheer, playful entertainment value and flat-out hilarity, there’s no comparable title to this hands-down, jolting, riveting black comedy. It is, far and away, the most delightfully entertaining film of the year.

With the comedic wit of Clue and the zigzag plotting of a great pot-boiler detective thriller, it’s bold & crass while always staying one step ahead of the audience. It’s hilarious and sharp, a perfect match for a discerning filmgoer.

Revolving around a detective (hilariously played by Daniel Craig, destined for a Golden Globe nod) investigating the apparent suicide of a rich patriarch of a family of despicable people, this film takes some wild turns when the detective realizes foul play might be afoot.

Writer-director Rian Johnson, raked over the coals in recent memory for Star Wars: Episode VIII, gives us a near-flawless picture here. The ensemble cast is perfect, and the beauty of Knives Out truly cannot be denied.

With other standouts Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, and newcomer Ana de Armes leading the way, this film flourishes with the help of the solid cast. It also features Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Get Out’s Lakeith Stanfield, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette, and more.

It’s a pitch-perfect film, and one of the wildest, most fervently delectable films in years.

4.5/5 Stars