MURDER MYSTERY 2

Murder Mystery 2 is a fun whodunnit, action comedy thanks to the always entertaining pairing of Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler, that despite offering a similar film to the first that is not nearly as good as its predecessor, is still a very entertaining watch.

Whenever Adam Sandler does a comedy film, they are only ever as good as his costar, with Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Anniston being his best co-stars. The first Murder Mystery was a big hit for Netflix, and a film that I thoroughly enjoyed, so I was excited for this film once it was announced. While it is no Knives Out, the mixing of the Agatha Christie style with Sandler’s silly style of comedy makes for an entertaining pairing. By no means does this sequel reinvent itself, instead following the structure of the first film with the same types of jokes, but the wonderful pairing of Sandler and Aniston makes it a fun watch from start to finish.

After solving the murder of Tobey Quince, Nick and Audrey Spitz have gone out on their own and become private investigators. Though they are not having the business success they had hoped, they are invited to their old friend The Maharajah’s wedding on a private island and take this as a trip to take a break from work. However during the wedding ceremonies, one of the guests is murdered and the Maharajah is kidnapped. With only one of the wedding guests being capable of pulling this off, as the crime required specific information about the wedding ceremony, Nick and Audrey take it upon themselves to discover the identity of the killer and to save the Maharajah before it is too late.

There truly are no surprises to Murder Mystery 2, but there’s nothing wrong with that. The film follows the whodunnit blueprint with lots of potential suspects, all with motive, and confining them into single locations for long periods of time. As with the first film, we get a mix of Sandler’s usual comedic gags which he and Aniston fully commit to, generating some great laughs, as well as some entertaining action set pieces which up the excitement level of the film. The identity of the killer is not too hard to guess, but the film does not rely on the reveal. Yes, it’s a large portion of the final act, but the writer and director are less concerned about pulling the rug out from under the audience like Rian Johnson is in the Knives Out franchise, more intent on creating a quick and fun watch. And in that regard they succeed in spades, as the ninety minutes fly by incredibly quickly. However, compared to the first film, this sequel is not nearly as good due to the smaller cast and less intrigue as to who the killer actually is, which was a larger focus of the first film.

Without a doubt, it is the winning combination of Sandler and Aniston who make this film worth your watch. Joining forces for their third film together after the first Murder Mystery and 2011’s Just Go With It, which is a guilty pleasure of mine, Sandler and Aniston are pros and have a great comedic energy between them. They play perfectly off each other, each laying hard into the stereotypes they have to play, but the result is an energy that carries the film from start to finish. Whether it be the scene where the two of them are frantically rearranging the furniture in their hotel room and hiding wedding guests throughout their suite, or tying up a police officer to get information while being very nice and apologetic about it, there is no duo other than Sandler and Aniston who could make this film such as fun as they can.

In terms of supporting cast members, there are some good actors present including Jodie-Turner Smith, Mélanie Laurent, Mark Strong, Adeel Akhtar and John Kani. However, with such a short run time and the screenplay focused on moving the story along to either the new big joke or action set piece, there is little time for the supporting cast to shine. It’s a step down from the first film, which had great supporting roles for a larger cast, but it’s not a real concern as the film is just pure fun from start to finish. Funnily enough, it is the cameo appearances from Tony Goldwyn, Annie Mumolo and Jillian Bell that are the standout moments of the film that don’t belong to Aniston or Sandler, because they are given on simple gag to pull off, do within a minute and then quickly bid farewell before they overstay their welcome.

Sometimes you just need an entertaining and mindless watch to turn on Netflix one evening, something that you can sit back and enjoy without too much thought, and Murder Mystery 2 delivers just that. Full of laugh out loud moments, exciting action sequences, and colourful characters to flesh out that whodunnit plot, Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler once again make for a fabulous comedic team that elevate Murder Mystery 2 to be a truly satisfying sequel.