Movie Review: Murder Mystery 2 (2023)

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Synopsis: After solving a series of murders while on a European vacation, Nick and Audrey Spitz attempt to start their own private detective agency only to have it struggle and put a strain on their marriage. When their wealthy friend, the Maharajah Vikram, invites them to his wedding on a private island, they see it as an opportunity to take a much-needed break. However, when Vik is kidnapped and his bodyguard, Lou, is murdered during the ceremony they find themselves in the middle of another investigation while also avoiding authorities because they are being framed.

Who's in it? The movie stars Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Mark Strong, Mélanie Laurent and Adeel Akhtar.


Review: Even though I enjoyed Murder Mystery much more than expected, I just never seemed to get around to watching Murder Mystery 2. I finally decided to correct that today and it turned out to be a good decision.

The plot, first and foremost, was a solid mystery. The person who kidnapped Vik (Akhtar) had inside information that only those closest to him knew and while the assumption would be it was solely about the money, it was also very possible there was an ulterior motive. Also helping was the person who would seem like the most obvious suspect, his soon-to-be wife, Claudette (Laurent) really didn't seem to have any motive at all, though there were lingering doubts about if she loved Vik or just his money.

On top of it, once the money was in play, it became a jumbled mess of bad guys, including some that weren't involved with the kidnapping but were looking to steal the $70 million.  This kept the film from becoming too predictable, even when Nick (Sandler) and Audry (Aniston) began narrowing it down to the main suspect, including having a nice surprise twist at the end.

Being a solid mystery would have been enough to make this movie fun to watch. The comedy part of it was just the well-executed icing on the cake. I would even argue this is one of Sandler's funniest movies, or at least one of the funniest films he's made within the past 10 years. Him and Aniston are a great pair, there are situations that are so crazy, you can't help but laugh and that totally unnecessary but still great Susan (Jillian Bell) moment toward the end just worked.

My only real complaint about the film is I wish the Spitz's being framed would have had more consequences than it did. The closest they came to being arrested was their interactions with Inspector Delacroix (Dany Boon) and that lasted all of a few seconds before he was helping them. Even Vik's family and friends, despite wanting to believe they were the kidnappers, didn't bother getting the police involved. While not a big deal, it would have added a bit more suspense.

Final Opinion: I think the first film was slightly better, but this was a solid sequel with an entertaining plot and crazy, funny moments scattered throughout. I enjoyed watching it.

My Grade: A

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Here are some reviews of other murder comedies:

Movie Review: Fly Away Baby (1937)

Movie Review: Mad Holiday (1936)

Movie Review: The Fuller Brush Man (1948)

Movie Review: Murder by Death (1976)

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