Murder Mystery 2 is a Netflix action comedy sequel directed by Jeremy Garelick and written by James Vanderbilt. It is a co-production with Happy Madison Films.

Five years after solving the cruise murder, Nick (Adam Sandler) and Audrey (Jennifer Aniston) are now private detectives of varying success and feel like they are in a rut. They are soon invited to the wedding of their friend known as The Maharajah (Adeel Akhtar) on his family’s private island. Colonel Ulenga (John Kani) is there as his bodyguard and they meet the fiancee Claudette (Mélanie Laurent). However, the Maharajah is kidnapped on his wedding day. The suspects are his fiancee, his best friend Francisco (Enrique Arce), his ex-girlfriend Countess Sekou (Jodie Turner-Smith), and his sister Saira (Kuhoo Verma). Complicating matters is the hostage negotiator Miller (Mark Strong) who despises Nick and Audrey and resents their involvement.

I got to be honest, I thought it was better than the first film in this series. This one produced an occasional genuine laugh and had an easier story to follow. From that angle, I can say that it had some pretty funny moments and some marriage humor that I could get behind.

Besides that, I was not really impressed. Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston have some good chemistry, so I could see them doing something special with those acting chops. However, their talent is wasted here. At times, their banter became incredibly chaotic and you were wondering what they were talking about at times.

The rest of the cast could have been replaced with anyone. No one truly stands out and even if a returning character had been replaced, I do not know if I would have noticed. The same is true of the new characters. No one really owns their part and they were just trying to float along so it would be competent at least.

With the plot, it was easier to follow than its predecessor, but it was still a bit all over the place. Personally, I do not think Mark Strong’s character mattered or was necessary to the plot. They could have done the same things with any and all of the other “suspects” for the crime. There were also a few twists that I did not think were necessary for it to move forward.

Bottom line, Murder Mystery 2 leaves it wide open for a sequel. Personally, I would let it go so Netflix could make more films like Hustle and more shows like Mindhunter.

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Violence including minor gore, Some foul language

FAVORITE QUOTE: I’m married to this lady. Everything’s a negotiation. I got it.

Check out the trailer below:

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