Murder Mystery 2. (L-R) Jennifer Aniston as Audrey Spitz and Adam Sandler as Nick Spitz in Murder Mystery 2. Cr. Scott Yamano/Netflix © 2023.

The sequel to one of the most watched Netflix originals, murder mystery 2now it’s streaming, but should i give it a watch?

After signing mega deal after mega deal with the streamer, Adam Sandler seems to be the gift that keeps on giving Netflix.

While many of his Happy Madison-produced comedies during his past two deals have been some of the most criticized of his career, he has delivered consistent projects year after year to his subscribers.

In 2019, Sandler had his biggest hit on Netflix yet with murder mysterya comedic attempt at an Agatha Christie-style whodunit starring himself and his follow me the roll co-star Jennifer Aniston. The film managed to successfully attract a whopping 83 million households, virtually guaranteeing a sequel opportunity for Sandler and co.

Filmed on location in the US island state of Hawaii and the famous French city of Paris, murder mystery 2 brings Sandler & Aniston back as married couple Nick & Audrey Spitz, who started their own private investigation company after the high-profile events of the first film.

Struggling to get their new business off the ground, they jump at the chance to go to a private island wedding for Maharaja Vikram (Adeel Akhtar), whom they met in the first film.

Placing them once again in a fish-out-of-water scenario with a dysfunctional wealthy family, the Spitz witness their friend being kidnapped after his bodyguard is found stabbed to death. Just like in the first movie, Nick and Audrey try to help with the investigation until the blame comes back on them. They must find the real culprits in order to clear their names and save their friend.

While much of that description sounds like a slight remix of the original movie’s plot, murder mystery 2 it’s almost the opposite of the first movie in many ways.

Directed by Kyle Newacheck (game over man), the original was more of an homage to a classic whodunit structure that centered on the stereotypically eccentric, super-wealthy British family killing their patriarch over new details in his will.

The new movie seems to care less about who and why and more about the journey itself. With an increased amount of humor and action scenes, the sequel feels more like a buddy cop flick than a clue-solving puzzle.

After the first movie fell into the dreaded zone of taking itself too seriously to be a comedy and too comedic to be taken seriously, this movie seems to know exactly what it is for better or worse. He knows the audience is here to see Sandler & Aniston bring their brand of veteran comedic gags and be entertained above all else, something the movie succeeds at most of the time.

murder mystery 2 netflix movie min

Image: Netflix

That doesn’t make this movie much better than the original, though, if at all. The first movie does a better job of slowing down the pace to establish motives and develop some of its characters. This film does not develop anyone in the service of fun and spectacle. Both are very imperfect presentations that appear to be average, watered down versions of the genres they choose to play in.

For a movie about a kidnapping, the movie doesn’t even bother to unite its co-conspirators. At no time did I care who did the kidnapping or who received the ransom money. Frankly, I didn’t even care if anyone in particular survived from this particular cast of characters, which sadly wastes the talents of Melanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds), Mark Strong (Kingsman movies), and others. We all want to see what Sandler & Aniston will do and the movie leans into that whenever possible.

At its best, we get to see our dynamic duo fight masked assailants inside a van during a police chase or make one-liners about missing limbs and eating too much cheese. It’s so well edited and packed with comedic punches that the glaring flaws in its plot and character development don’t seem terribly apparent until its final conclusion.

In general, murder mystery 2 proves once again that Sandler & Aniston have a strong and well-established chemistry that can give their fans a certain level of satisfaction that they have come to expect. However, when it comes to Netflix Original comedies produced by Happy Madison, we’ve also dropped the bar so low that an average movie with a flawed script is what constitutes a hit.


Watch Murder Mystery 2 on Netflix if you like:

  • murder mystery
  • follow me the roll
  • the bounty hunter
  • we are the millers
  • The repetition

MVP of murder mystery 2

Jennifer Aniston as Audrey Spitz.

With a bit more depth of character and a few passing moments of investigative work, it seems Aniston pulled the last straw between her and Sandler’s less-than-stellar cop routine. As a clear leader with a stronger fascination with the process, Aniston’s Audrey lends a little more legitimacy as she brings us the same humor, charm and beauty that Aniston’s audience has enjoyed for many years.


PLAY, PAUSE OR STOP?

PAUSE.

With enough action, a fast pace, and a short run time, this one will satisfy fans of the original movie and its veteran leads. Just don’t confuse it with high quality.