From the previews, the comedy Knives Out looks like a cross between an Agatha Christie mystery and Clue. And that’s pretty much what it is.

It’s not Academy Award-winning fare, but nor is it one of those large productions that sinks from the weight of a big-name cast. And it’s quite a cast: Christopher Plummer, Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson and Toni Colette, among others.

The lead role, however, is played by Ana de Armas, the sultry Cuban-born actress who seduced Keanu Reeves in Knock Knock (2015). In a change of pace, she portrays Marta Cabrera, the mousey nurse, companion and confidant to wealthy novelist Harlan Thrombey (Plummer).

Harlan dies at the start of the movie, though the audience sees plenty more of Plummer in flashbacks as family members and employees tell their versions of events to police and private detective Benoit Blanc (Craig). Was it suicide … or murder?

The rest of the stars align as Thrombey’s children and grandchildren:

• Curtis is Linda, a businesswoman who started on third base thanks to her father but thinks she hit a home run.
• Johnson is her philandering husband, Richard.
• Chris Evans (Captain America, Snowpiercer) is their spoiled, bratty adult son, Ransom.
• Colette is Thrombey’s daughter-in-law, Joni, who obscures her greed with a New Age aura.
• Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water) plays Walt, the son Thrombey kept under his thumb by giving him a job with a title but no authority.

Each of those actors gets the opportunity to chew some scenery, reveling in their characters’ quirks and hidden agendas – only to become unhinged when informed that Harlan bequeathed everything to Marta.

But none has more fun than Craig, whom Evans’ character, Ransom, compares to Foghorn Leghorn, the giant cartoon chicken with a Southern drawl from mid-20th century Looney Toons. That’s pretty much how Craig plays him – full of bluster and metaphor. Blanc is ridiculous, but Craig looks like he had a blast portraying him.

Operating under the assumption that Harlan killed himself, the family members demand to know why Blanc is there. He says he doesn’t know – that he was hired anonymously, receiving an envelope containing cash and a note. Still, Blanc takes the lead on the case. He keeps Marta close – sort of a “friends close but enemies closer” situation. Does he believe she is a disinterested observer, or is she his prime suspect?

Armas keeps Marta grounded, even as the nurse navigates among grief, guilt, pressure from the Thrombeys and concerns about her own mother’s immigration status.

She and Craig are comfortable on screen together. That’s good, since Armas will be the newest Bond girl opposite Craig in next year’s No Time to Die. Presumably, she’ll be playing sexy again.

The circumstances of Harlan’s death are complicated but not unsolvable. Clues are there for the audience. But the details in Knives Out are complex, requiring a bit too much drawling exposition from Craig.

Knives Out, which screened earlier this month at the Scottsdale International Film Festival, opens in theaters this week.

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Stuart J. Robinson practices writing, editing, media relations and social media through his business, Phoenix-based Lightbulb Communications.

Tags: Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Christopher Plummer, Clue, Daniel Craig, Don Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Knives Out, Michael Shannon, No Time to Die, Toni Colette