By Ricky Valero
Where to stream it? Netflix
Starring: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Mark Strong, Mélanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith, John Kani, Kuhoo Verma, Enrique Arce, Zurin Villanueva, Tony Goldwyn, Annie Mumolo with Danny Boon and Adeel Akhtar
Written by: James Vanderbilt
Directed by: Jeremy Garelick
Intro: Murder Mystery 2 Review
Nothing goes more hand-in-hand than Adam Sandler's goofy comedies and Netflix. We have the sequel to the 2019 action comedy Murder Mystery arriving on Netflix with Murder Mystery 2. The film sees the reunion of Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston in the lead roles of Nick and Audrey.
Nick and Audrey started a detective firm after solving the case in the first film. However, things aren't going as well, with the two struggling to keep clients and pay the bills. All of this changes when one day they get invited to their friend Maharaja's wedding, who eventually gets kidnapped, leading to them having to solve the whodunnit.
Same old story, same old jokes
I'm going to be honest with you, I went into this movie with incredibly low expectations since I thought Murder Mystery was a disaster. But maybe, with James Vanderbilt making the banger that was Scream VI mixed with Sandler and Aniston, they could redeem themselves.
Listen, Adam Sandler is a very funny and incredible actor. We saw last year with Hustle that his performance can elevate a good script to make an outstanding film. So, when you see him go back to this type of humor, dumbing himself down with mediocre comedy, you can't help but get frustrated. It's exhausting watching this incredibly talented human being belittle his ability with god-awful roles like this.
This is supposed to be a “comedy,” and don't get me wrong, the cast looks like they're having the time of their lives. But I wish I had that much fun, too. I did something I hadn't done before when watching a movie: I kept a laugh counter. Throughout this hour-and-a-half movie, I laughed three times. Yes, you read that right, THREE TIMES. The humor was so painful that I cringed more than I laughed.
Where was the mystery?
The movie's title has “mystery” in it, and there is none within it. I understand we wouldn't get a Rian Johnson Knives Out style of mystery, but he truly set the bar for at least providing some mystery in films that aren't so predictable. You can't tell me that they spent all this money, yet we could get a viable script to keep us guessing? I am tired of these movies.
The true mystery of this movie is why Netflix let them spend all this money on these set locations, blowing all these insane things up and paying these actors boatloads of money. In return, they got an unfunny, lousy script and film that is terrible. In a time when Netflix is canceling great shows, you can't help but be mad when you see them bring out these $100 million duds.
Final Thoughts: Murder Mystery 2 Review
Overall, I didn't think it was possible, but I hated this more than the original. It's such a waste of talent when you have Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston in the same movie with a bad script.
That said, I am sure Murder Mystery 2 might find an audience that enjoys these types of Adam Sandler comedies, and I am happy for them. However, I hope that the relationship between Netflix and Sandler will produce more films like Hustle in the future because with any more Murder Mystery 2‘s I will give up hope on what a comedy really is anymore.
