Review of the movie ‘Murder Mystery 2’ – The Hollywood Reporter

To quote the devil Noah Cross in Chinatown, “Politicians, ugly buildings, and prostitutes all become respectable if they last long enough.” The same can be said of Adam Sandler, who spent years making piñata for critics for silly comedies like Billy Madison And Gilmore is happy. Now he is a famous actor, his name is given by the Oscar predictors for his excellent performances like the roles he has played. uncut gems And Hustle. He even ranks with famous comedy talents like Richard Pryor and George Carlin when it comes to winning the Mark Twain Award.

But in the end Sandler has to be Sandler, and that big deal with Netflix has to be done. Hence the appearance of Murder Mystery 2, the sequel to the critically-acclaimed 2019 comedy starring Jennifer Aniston became the streamer’s biggest hit that year. This movie brings back the goofy, goofy Sandler that audiences just can’t seem to get bored of in the innocuous comic media genre that goes well with Chinese takeout or Saturday night pizza. It’s also user-friendly enough to chronograph an hour and a half with ease, as opposed to seemingly endless time Ridiculous thing 6 at two o’clock or painful Sandy Wexler at 130 minutes.

The first film, about a New York City cop and his wife, Nick and Audrey Spitz (their names allude to predictable pranks), who find themselves solving a mystery. Agatha Christie-style murder while on vacation in Europe, is a fun pastime, thanks in large part to the chemistry of her co-stars, longtime friends who first worked together in 1999. 2011 Just go with it. Sandler and Aniston have decades of comic experience between them, and they definitely know how to craft a story or a bit of physical action.

Those attributes have been inexplicably downplayed for this installment, which seems determined to surpass the previous one not with laughter but with action sequences. No one wants to see these two actors try to outdo Keanu Reeves’ John Wick or Charlize Theron. atomic blonde characters (Theron is one of the executive producers of this film), but here they are fighting the bad guys in a van that dangerously rushes through the streets of Paris and dangles from a tower. Eiffel. As this movie painfully makes clear, it’s hard to both dodge bullets and run frantically.

The action sequences are expertly choreographed (though unfortunately a scene that takes place at the Arc de Triomphe is seen right after the spectacular car chase there in John Wick: Chapter 4), but it seems completely unnecessary. For Sandler fans, just seeing him wrap up a whole block of cheese even while chasing a criminal or performing sarcastic, self-deprecating acts seems normal enough to be able to react. variable is enough.

The sequel begins with a quick recap of its predecessor before moving on to a strangely rushed episode involving the Spitzes family founding a private detective agency that makes us feel like missed a part. Not long after, they find themselves invited to the wedding of Maharaja (Adeel Akhtar), their wealthy friend from the previous film, at his private tropical island. Other guests include beautiful French fiancée Claudette (Mélanie Laurent); her best friend, Countess Sekou (Jodie Turner-Smith), who was previously engaged to Maharaja; the countess’s assistant, Imani (Zurin Vallanueava); Maharaja’s philanthropist sister, Saira (Kuhoo Verma); Randy Francisco (Enrique Arce), who hits every woman that moves; and Colonel Namibia Ulenga (John Kani), who previously lost an arm and an eye, has also lost the rest of his arm since the first movie.

Needless to say, nearly all of them became suspects when Maharaja was kidnapped with a ransom demand of $50 million. Joined to help solve the case — you’ll understand when you watch the movie — is an extremely manly M16 hostage negotiator (Mark Strong, send Mark Strong his stuff) who wrote the detective guidebook. literal death that the Spitzes studied to launch their campaign. the firm.

Finally, the road leads to Paris, because Sandler wants to treat his friends and family to another luxury vacation paid for. There, they reunite with Breed Inspector Clouseau Delacroix (Dany Boon), whose main characteristic is the ability to blow perfect smoke rings. (These are jokes, folks.)

Screenplay by James Vanderbilt — who has previously shown his comedic honesty with films like Zodiac, The White House Collapse And Independence Day: Rise — mostly based on tense antics and physical humor that hardly work, unless you find things like floss-equipped business cards inherently funny. The only real fun comes from the random subplots brought in by Sandler and Aniston, the latter also offering perfectly calibrated slow-burn responses that are often overshadowed by over-produced mayhem. levels around them.

Catch up on Netflix’s much superior Agatha Christie arrival Onion, Murder Mystery 2 will be another hit for streamers anyway. One can only hope that with the sequel they focus a little less on production value and more on comedy.