In 2019, Netflix scored a huge hit with the movie Murder Mystery, starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler. Despite a lukewarm reception from critics, the crime comedy rose to the top of the list of the most popular new productions on the platform that year, films and television series combined. The Stranger Things 3 series ranked second. A sequel was therefore almost self-evident.
Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, who co-starred in the 2011 romantic comedy Just Go With It, look like they’re downright having fun in Murder Mystery 2, set four years after the first. opus. Nothing is going well in the professional life of the two detectives, Audrey and Nick Spitz. They are struggling to find customers. Their love life is floundering. The prospect of an all-expenses-paid stay on a lush island, at the expense of their friend the Maharajah (Adeel Akhtar), who is getting married, is timely.
Of course, there are many twists and turns and the two American guests quickly find themselves in trouble when their host is kidnapped. The references to the first film are numerous and contribute to the charm of the second. Fans of the genre also benefit from refreshing their memories to appreciate certain scenes. Screenwriter James Vanderbilt (Murder Mystery, Scream 6) multiplies the parallels and humorously brings back Colonel Ulenga (John Kani) and Inspector Delacroix (Dany Boon).
Jeremy Garelick (The Wedding Ringer / Groomsmen, The Binge) takes over as director and manages to create suspense in scenes more implausible than each other. The filming locations are breathtaking. The Bollywood-style dance number honoring the Maharajah and his future wife Claudette (Mélanie Laurent) is breathtaking. But still, the focus remains on Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler. They perfectly personify an ordinary couple who brilliantly struggle to find the culprits and extricate themselves from dangerous situations. Thanks to them, the film works and provides good entertainment.
