What writer-director Rian Johnson has proven most effectively with the “Knives Out” film series is that the central question of murder mystery — whodunit? — is not the most interesting question. Understanding the world where the crime occurs and the underlying dysfunction of the suspects gives the films their juice. For the labyrinth plots and elaborate explanations are secondary to Johnson’s critique of inherited wealth (the initial film) or the shallow innovation of the tech-bro billionaire (“Glass Onion”) all brought down by master sleuth Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). Blanc not only solves the case but reveals the upper-class characters as the proverbial emperor with no clothes.

Those critiques are present in the newest film, “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” but Johnson adds a

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