Murder Mystery 2

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston lift a lazy follow-up to their action-heavy Netflix comedy with genuine movie star charm.

[Netflix](https://www.theguardian.com/media/netflix), the film sure to be another much-watched and endlessly followed-up sequel. [Murder Mystery](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jun/14/murder-mystery-review-netflix-adam-sandler-jennifer-aniston), his most watched Netflix film to date was one that didn’t exactly straddle these two halves but made for a more acceptable use of his sillier side, thanks greatly to the appearance of Jennifer Aniston. [Hustle](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jun/05/hustle-review-adam-sandler-scores-in-rags-to-riches-tale) and simultaneously, we’ve seen the Safdies squeeze out his best work in Uncut Gems (the trio will collaborate again with a new film set in the world of sports memorabilia) and later this year he’ll star alongside Carey Mulligan in the offbeat sci-fi drama Spaceman.

It's also funny to see how much its sequel riffs on Knives Out, seeing as the original Murder Mystery preceded that Rian Johnson film and the whodunnit craze it ...

Or, as is more fitting for Murder Mystery 2, perhaps I should say just entertaining enough for a film like this. The ultimate joke of the Murder Mystery films is that Nick and Audrey are stereotypical American tourists. Neither of them breaks a sweat, and they settle into a comfortable, mildly combative register – like an actual married couple, really, with one chastising the other for gnawing directly on a block of cheese instead of taking a slice. Neither do the various twists and turns live up to the fact that the film’s screenplay is written by Zodiac’s James Vanderbilt – yes, David Fincher’s Zodiac. [Much like Glass Onion](/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/knives-out-glass-onion-netflix-review-daniel-craig-b2250380.html), this sequel packs up its protagonists and sends them off to a private island, where the elite turn out to have blood on their hands. Nick (Sandler) and Audrey Spitz (Aniston) are now in the private investigator business, and attending the wedding of a former suspect, the Maharajah (Adeel Akhtar).

Four years and – of course – a pandemic later the follow-up is finally here, reuniting Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler as the married couple who dream of ...

And while we could criticise it for being a simple, untaxing piece of fluff, that's actually what recommends it. Of course, that means it all feels rather average – it’s not too sexy, it’s mildly amusing rather than a laugh riot, and despite a few shootings and fist fights, the camera always pulls away before any violent moments that could worry the censors (a shame, because a death-by-helicopter-blades scene here had the potential to be as memorable as the Raiders Of The Lost Ark plane one if the camera didn't cut away). Murder Mystery 2 catches up with NY cop Nick and murder mystery novel-loving hairdresser Audrey after they have ditched their day jobs to try and make a living as professional sleuths (don't worry at this point if you haven't seen the first movie as the first few scenes will bring you up to speed).

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler partner up again for Murder Mystery 2, but how mysterious is it? Read our review.

The sequence is the perfect combination of action and humour, but no other scene manages to reach the euphoric highs of this scene. Murder Mystery 2 should have been much better with such a starry, talented cast. The plot is generic and predictable; it doesn’t take that many brain cells to guess where it’s all going but the thrill of these films should always be the element of surprise. The film’s runtime just about reaches 80 minutes (90-ish minutes if you count the credits), but it’s so over-stuffed with ideas and different tones, it’s enough to give you motion sickness. It seems at first that Murder Mystery 2 has something poignant to say about marriage and work; what happens when you work and live with your spouse? Nick (Sandler) and Audrey (Aniston) now have their own detective agency.

The ending of Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston comedy Murder Mystery 2 explained, plus post-credits scene details.

Trouble is, their pilot (from earlier in the film) steals the money and jumps out of the chopper. The Maharajah’s sister Saira was in on it, which Audrey figures out thanks to a smeared henna tattoo. And straight into the blades of his accomplice’s chopper, killing them both. While we’re going to detail what happens at the end as well as during the credits below, so BEWARE OF SPOILERS AHEAD… But atop the Eiffel Tower, the Spritzes manage to foil him, throwing most of the money over the side. But trouble follows the Spitzes again when the groom is kidnapped for ransom soon after the festivities begin – making each glamorous guest, family member, and the bride herself a suspect.

Netflix action comedy sequel Murder Mystery 2 starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler was filmed at iconic locations in Hawaii and Paris.

Fallon said that this was the first stunt to be filmed at the Eiffel Tower, but the iconic structure has been the setting on several action scenes in earlier movies. Director Jeremy Garelick stated that he intended to shoot at these iconic locations due to the effect of lockdown on audience. Iconic landmarks in Paris which feature heavily in the film include the Arc de Triomphe, Opera, and the Eiffel Tower, where a major stunt was filmed. The film begins in Hawaii, as Nick and Audrey attend a friend’s lavish wedding. [film](/topic/film) will be recognised by viewers. The pair find themselves involved in another major case when their friend is abducted at his own wedding.

Amateur sleuthing couple Nick and Audrey Spitz are back on the case in Netflix's Murder Mystery 2. The first movie proved that the married pair could just about ...

And if the helicopter crashes and burns with them in it (sorry, Athens residents), everyone will assume that the money went up in flames with them and won't be searching for it. Saira tries to shoot Vik once more, but the Colonel jumps in front of the bullet which goes into his arm, and Vik is saved. The big question remains – who exactly is this devious (and now very wealthy) pilot? Why go to all the trouble of taking it from them on the chopper? Our guess is that the pilot is trying to cover his tracks – if he had stolen the bag in Paris, Vik and his bodyguards would have found him, or he would have been arrested by the police. Nick arrives, and tackles Miller as Audrey is pushed over the railings in the fight (luckily she’s attached to the zip wire). Audrey knows – as a former hairdresser – that henna dries quickly and remembers the discarded stained jacket she saw at the wedding. He fails, and Miller attaches himself to the zip line ready to escape, only for Audrey to grab on as they hurtle up towards the top of the tower. When that doesn't work, she grabs the suitcase and threatens to throw it from the tower. The bomb doesn’t go off when the timer runs out just as Nick predicted, but one of the windows of the restaurant explodes and Miller swings into the room, explaining that he faked his own death in the van explosion so he could carry on with his money-grabbing scheme. Audrey and Nick arrive with the ransom money and start to review the suspects who are present. It looks like the bad guy has been caught, but back at the restaurant Audrey notices Saira is bleeding.

Murder Mystery 2 has no loftier goals than disposable entertainment for 90 minutes, and it gets the job done.

Still, there’s something to be said about the efficiency of this venture, especially in an era of so much bloat in feature films and television. They’re not exactly deep characters—the breakneck nature of the kidnapping plot doesn’t allow it—but Aniston and Sandler do a lot by merely relying on their familiarity with one another as performers. The groom’s bodyguard ends up being the one on the pachyderm, murdered by a cheese knife in the side, but it’s really a distraction for the Maharajah to be kidnapped. And that could be because of the goodwill engendered by projects like “ [Uncut Gems](/reviews/uncut-gems-movie-review-2019),” “Hustle,” and even the relatively enjoyable “ [Hubie Halloween](/reviews/hubie-halloween-movie-review-2020).” Or I could have just been in a worse mood four years ago. “Murder Mystery 2” sets up a group of suspects that includes the bride Claudette ( After the chaotic action of the original, they’ve become private dicks, solving crimes for a fee, but they’re struggling to make it work.

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston star, once again, as Nick and Audrey Spitz, respectively an erstwhile New York City cop and a former hairdresser. In the first ...

Later, despite the fact that doing so is illegal, he and Audrey, after squabbling through most of the movie, renew their love for one another by affixing a padlock to the Pont des Arts, what they call “the Love Locks Bridge.” Forget that the collective weight of such locks threatens the bridge’s structural integrity. How about the suave Francisco (Enrique Arce), the Maharajah’s equally rich business partner, who has plenty to gain with his associate out of the way—and who also spends most of his time trying to purr Audrey into bed with him? There’s a way in which buying a movie ticket is a vote of confidence in a film, a hopeful act that we always hope won’t end in betrayal. [Adam Sandler movies](https://time.com/4744571/adam-sandler-movies-netflix-ratings/) precisely for their dopey gags. (She resists, obviously.) And then there’s the Maharajah’s straight-talking sister Saira (Kuhoo Verma), who’s clear about her boredom with fancy people, a proclivity that endears her to Audrey immediately. Yet even the Eiffel Tower seems like a mere accessory to the movie’s jumble of action and dopey gags. It turns out they can’t—but just as their bickering becomes unbearable, to them and to us, they accept an invitation to the wedding of their friend, the Maharajah (Adeel Akhtar), the madcap rich Indian dude they befriended in the first installment. Could it be the Maharajah’s French fiancée, Claudette (Mélanie Laurent), who may or may not be ze digger of ze gold? Maybe it’s her best friend, and an ex-girlfriend of the Maharajah’s, the icy Countess Sekou (Jodie Turner-Smith), who mocks Audrey for loading food onto her plate, just one of many instances in which Audrey and Nick demonstrate that they are truly just regular old salt-of-the-earth people, wholly clueless about manners and thinking it’s just everyone else who’s stuck up.. They arrive at the private tropical island where the wedding is set to take place and don the luxurious ivory-toned wedding-guest outfits their host has thoughtfully provided for them—only to witness the alarming kidnaping of the groom just as he’s about to enter his own celebration on the back of a gaily decorated elephant, a turn of events that puts every guest on edge and eventually leads Nick, Audrey, and the core gang of suspects to Paris. [Jennifer Aniston](https://time.com/5759599/jennifer-aniston-at-golden-globes/) star, once again, as Nick and Audrey Spitz, respectively an erstwhile New York City cop and a former hairdresser. In an age when theater attendance is down and streaming products reign—even if the services that produce and present them still haven’t figured out how to make money off them—is this what movies have come to?

After foiling a previous murder mystery, Nick (Adam Sandler) and Audrey Spitz (Jennifer Aniston) decide to start a private detective agency.

But really this is just another vehicle for Sandler to do his well-oiled schtick with his pals, directed with a near-obstinate lack of imagination (a trip to Paris is introduced, inventively, with establishing shots of the Eiffel Tower, the Moulin Rouge, and the Louvre, in that order). [Jennifer Aniston](https://www.empireonline.com/people/jennifer-aniston/), as charismatic as ever) embarking on their new lives as private investigators, desperate for a murder to solve. In any case, with a blunt, prosaic title like that, what else would you expect? It is perhaps unfortunate that this film’s release date comes within spitting distance of a [Adam Sandler](https://www.empireonline.com/people/adam-sandler/)’s cheap-and-cheerful Netflix stable to get a sequel, this is really More Of The Same, squared. This is a quite straightforward, by-the-numbers, Golden Retriever puppy of a film: stupid, basic, sometimes annoying, sometimes lovable, hard to truly hate.

Movie Review: In Netflix's Murder Mystery 2, Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston return as Nick and Audrey Spitz. It's no Knives Out 2, but it's still fun.

Director Jeremy Garelick, who brings a visual elegance to the movie that the first one sorely lacked, seems to have an eye for physical comedy and a real sense of pace. I found myself laughing out loud at many of its dumb little gags, such as Nick’s obsession with a particular kind of cheese served at the wedding (“The cheese has a hold on me!”), one character’s constant references to his sexual prowess, and some grisly fun with an ax stuck in a random goon’s head. As does the pleasant spectacle of movie stars simply being movie stars. And by all indications, Murder Mystery 2 appears to be another one of the star-producer’s efforts to take himself and his pals on vacation on a studio’s dime. Given the half-hearted, point-the-camera-and-shoot nature of the first Murder Mystery, it would be fair to expect very little from its follow-up. Murder Mystery 2, Netflix’s sequel to the utterly disposable 2019 Adam Sandler–Jennifer Aniston comedy Murder Mystery, a film about as inventive as its title, doesn’t look promising at all.