Nick (Adam Sandler) and Audrey (Jennifer Aniston) Spitz are struggling to get their private detective agency off the ground following successfully solving a series of murders during their anniversary trip to Europe. Frustrated, the spouses are invited to a tropical island for the wedding of their friend The Maharajah (Adeel Akhtar), whom they met during their previous crime-solving adventures. During the wedding, The Maharajah is kidnapped and a ransom for $50 million is issued. With an array of suspects around them, can Nick and Audrey solve yet another crime?
‘Murder Mystery 2’ is the sequel to Netflix’s runaway hit ‘Murder Mystery’, which was released in 2019 and panned by the critics. Audiences however absolutely loved it and the film was the biggest hit on the streamer that year. It’s no surprise then that a sequel is now here (and I imagine more sequels will follow) and it’s also no surprise that once again the critics are going to hate it. Featuring a starry cast once again, led by Sandler and Aniston, ‘Murder Mystery 2’ falters slightly with its own premise, given there really isn’t a central murder for the pair to resolve in a film that literally features the words in the title.
If you can look past that, ‘Murder Mystery 2’ is exactly what fans of the previous film are going to expect. It’s 90 minutes of pure popcorn fluff that rides mostly on the chemistry between Sandler and Aniston. Both actors are in their comfort zone as Nick and Audrey, and given this is a sequel, the ante is upped slightly and the action on a larger scale. When The Maharajah is kidnapped, the Spitzes find themselves surrounded by suspects including The Maharajah’s ex Countess Sekou (Jodie Turner-Smith), his sister Saira (Kuhoo Verma), his would-be-bride Claudette (Mélanie Laurent) and serial playboy Francisco (Enrique Arce).
The Spitzes are thrown a curveball when hostage negotiator Miller (Mark Strong), a man idolised by Audrey thanks to a book he wrote on solving crimes, arrives to find the Maharajah. As they work with him, the Spitzes are led to Paris as they follow the Maharajah’s trail and try to unmask the person(s) behind the kidnapping. Do they really have a clue what they’re doing? What do you think?
Perhaps the biggest issue with ‘Murder Mystery 2’, aside from the absence of a central murder, is that the laughs are few and far between. When you have comedians as gifted as Sandler and Aniston, that’s a real disservice to them and to the audience. The script by James Vanderbilt (who penned the first movie and the last two ‘Scream’ films) is lacking in the jokes department so Sandler and Aniston do their best to work with very thin material. While there is more of a sense of a plot this time around, the film does nothing to really flesh out the suspects so by the time the inevitable reveal takes place, you probably won’t care.
Where the film does succeed is by increasing the stakes, for Nick and Audrey at least. The action set-pieces are bigger with standout moments including the married couple battling for their lives after being forced to get into a van with the kidnappers, and Audrey dangling precariously from the Eiffel Tower during the film’s climax. Both Sandler and Aniston rise to the occasion and it’s thanks to them that ‘Murder Mystery 2’ remains as watchable as it does.
Inevitably, ‘Murder Mystery 3’ will be commissioned and if it does, I suggest the team behind the franchise goes back to basics. It’s clear that they’re aiming for a ‘Knives Out’ style success and as of yet they’ve not managed it. The comedy aspect should be easy given the lead actors but if there is another film, there really needs to be an engaging murder mystery (as per the title) with decently written suspects and plenty of twists. ‘Murder Mystery 2’ isn’t terrible but it’s not a film you’ll be rushing to recommend to anyone either.
Cast: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Mark Strong, Mélanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith, John Kani, Kuhoo Verma, Dany Boon, Adeel Akhtar, Enrique Arce Director: Jeremy Garelick Writer: James Vanderbilt Certificate: 12 Duration: 99 mins Released by: Netflix Release date: 31st March 2023
