Film Review: MURDER MYSTERY 2 (2023): Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston Return for a Bigger and Better Suspenseful Sequel

Murder Mystery 2 Review

Murder Mystery 2 (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by Jeremy Garelick, written by James Vanderbilt and starring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Mark Strong, Melanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith, John Kani, Kuhoo Verma, Dany Boon, Adeel Akhtar, Enrique Arce, Zurin Villanueva, Jillian Bell, Tony Goldwyn, Annie Mumolo, Myo Leong, Carlos Ponce, Julien Briau and Matthew R. Anderson.

Director Jeremy Garelick’s hilarious and fast-paced new light as air comedy sequel, Murder Mystery 2, is a great excuse to see another pairing of Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston who, together, are like a well-oiled comic machine. There’s not too much of a compelling plot in the new follow-up to the first Murder Mystery movie but there are plenty of exciting set pieces which are funny enough on their own to make the film worth seeing for fans of the film’s two main stars, Sandler and Aniston.

This new picture opens as Nick (Sandler) and Audrey (Aniston) open up their own private investigation company following the events of the first picture. Keep in mind their offbeat business card as it will come in handy in a scene much later in the movie. In a hysterical bit at the beginning, one of the pair’s clients, Mrs. Silverfox (Annie Mumolo) hires Audrey to research Silverfox’s husband (Tony Goldwyn) who may be cheating on Mrs. Silverfox. When that case ends up becoming a fiasco, Nick and Audrey have nowhere left to turn. They need a vacation and Nick’s friend, The Maharajah, invites them to come to his wedding. The Maharajah’s parents died so Nick and Audrey can take their spots at the event.

Pretty soon, ransom money is demanded for a kidnapped Maharajah and a no-nonsense hostage negotiator named Miller (Mark Strong) arrives to help piece the clues together and sufficiently crack the case. In a funny bit, Nick tries to negotiate with the kidnapper only to end up making the kidnapper demand more money in ransom than what was asked for originally. Eventually, the action takes us to France where a briefcase with ransom money switches hands and Nick and Audrey escape a fire together among other daring perils. There is some suspense in these scenes that helps keep the action moving quickly.

Early on, there’s a sequence in the movie where a masked set of guys try to kidnap Nick and Audrey who must fight back. In a twist of events, the married couple ends up getting blamed as the culprits seeking the ransom when they are, in actuality, the good guys. Bodies start to pile up as the wild action ensues leading up to a fine scene with a helicopter spinning around our characters right after the suitcase of ransom money opens up and the bills start flying around Paris.

The supporting cast is all in the best of spirits. Jodie Turner-Smith shines as Countess Sekou while Colonel Ulenga (John Kani) who wears an eye patch was also one of the more successful characters in the movie. Jillian Bell even pops up looking for a love she knew 10 years ago and Bell is humorous in a very brief but engaging turn. The plot twists continue to mount and the story unveils its secret culprit to the viewer as the smart Audrey begins piecing together the puzzle surrounding what, exactly, happened at the Maharajah’s wedding and why.

Murder Mystery 2 is an energetic movie with charismatic turns by Sandler and Aniston. Yes, the movie could have used some polishing in the writing department and, yes, some of the jokes fall flat but Sandler and Aniston are always worth watching as a comic pairing. The movie is short and sweet clocking in (without credits) at barely 80 minutes long. Netflix was made for breezy movies like this one and there will probably be a third movie in the series in the not-too-distant future.

Rating: 6.5/10

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