Murder Mystery 2 movie review: Underwhelming flick but works due to the fun moments and performances

MURDER MYSTERY 2 is about the adventures of a detective couple. After the events of the first film, Nick Spitz (Adam Sandler) and Audrey Spitz (Jennifer Aniston) start their detective agency. Sadly, their new business doesn’t go as planned. One day, Maharajah Vikram Shivan Govindan (Adeel Akhtar) calls and informs them that he’s going to get married. He invites the Spitzes to his high-profile Indian wedding on a private island. Nick and Audrey realize that they need this break and accept the invitation. On the island, they are given a royal welcome. At the sangeet function before the marriage, things go unexpectedly. The Maharajah was supposed to make an entry on an elephant. Instead, his bodyguard Lou (Larry Myo Leong), in an injured state, makes the entry. Nick sees the Maharajah being taken away to the mainland forcibly. Nick and Audrey take charge and realize that not many knew that the Maharajah was going to enter the venue on an elephant. This means that the suspects are the ones who knew about the plan and they are Maharajah’s sister Saira (Kuhoo Verma), Maharajah’s fiancée Claudette (Mélanie Laurent), Maharajah’s ex-fiancee Countess Sekou (Jodie Turner-Smith), Maharajah’s friend and ex-soccer player Francisco (Enrique Arce) and Colonel Ulenga (John Kani). What happens next forms the rest of the film. James Vanderbilt's story is entertaining. James Vanderbilt's screenplay is peppered with some funny and outrageous moments just like the first part. But unlike MURDER MYSTERY [2019], the suspense factor is disappointing in MURDER MYSTERY 2. The dialogues are one of the strengths of the film and enhance the humour quotient in several scenes. Jeremy Garelick's direction is decent. A few scenes are well shot and thought out and will surely raise loads of laughs. The first half is quite good and sets the mood. The Indian audiences particularly would enjoy the pre-wedding scene due to the desi touch. Two scenes stand out here –the suspects sneaking into Nick and Audrey’s room one by one, and Nick and Audrey negotiating with the kidnapper on the phone. The climax has its share of thrills too. On the flipside, the revelation of the villain is unexpected but is also quite silly. The motive of the character to turn villain is not explained. The track of the Countess fails to entice as well. And the big problem with the film is that it’s too short. It has a runtime of 90 minutes, out of which the end credits take up to 11 minutes. Hence, the actual film is just 79 minutes long and viewers will feel cheated as it ends too soon. MURDER MYSTERY was also not quite lengthy. It was 8 minutes longer than the sequel but had enough meat in the script and the villain angle was justified. All these factors are missing here. Speaking of performances, Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston both are adorable and very funny. Yet again, they make a fantastic team and keep the viewers glued to the narrative. Adeel Akhtar is entertaining in a cameo. Mark Strong (Miller) leaves a huge mark. Enrique Arce is good as the creepy guy and brings the house down in a few scenes. Kuhoo Verma, Mélanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith, John Kani and Larry Myo Leong are fine in the supporting roles. Zurin Villanueva (Imani) is memorable thanks to her laugh. Jillian Bell (Susan) is decent. Dany Boon (Inspector Delacroix) is dependable. Rupert Gregson-Williams's music has a cinematic feel. Bojan Bazelli's cinematography is splendid. The locales of Paris, especially, are very well shot. Perry Andelin Blake's production design is top class. Debra McGuire's costumes are glamorous. Special mention should be made of Jennifer Aniston’s lehenga in the pre-wedding sequence, designed by Manish Malhotra. The action is family-friendly. Tom Costain and Brian M Robinson's editing is sharp. On the whole, MURDER MYSTERY 2 works due to the fun moments and the performances of Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. However, the suspense element is weak and hence, the film turns out to be an average fare. But thanks to the immense hype and popularity of the first part, MURDER MYSTERY 2 will surely record huge viewership on Netflix. Also Read: Murder Mystery 2: Netflix unveils new clip for sequel of Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston’s comedy thriller; watch