Netflix’s “Murder Mystery” sequel starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler premiered March 31, but the audience didn’t have to put in much effort to solve this new case. With cheesy jokes and barely any plot twists, the reunion of two legends of Hollywood is the only thing that got me through the movie.
People in their 20s grew up watching iconic Sandler movies like “Grown Ups,” “5o First Dates” and “Blended.” Those movies aren’t Oscar-worthy, but without a shadow of a doubt, they create a sensation of home in our hearts every time we watch them.
Sandler’s first movie with Aniston was “Just Go with It” — one of my personal favorites — and fans were desperate for a sequel or a reunion. When they announced the first “Murder Mystery” in 2019, the crowd went wild. I’m not going to lie, it was great to see them together again, but I was utterly disappointed with the film in general.
The first “Murder Mystery” tells the story of a Brooklyn cop and a hairdresser in a marriage that’s falling apart. Nick and Audrey Spitz got used to the conventionality of their relationship but on their anniversary, to cover a lie, Nick had no choice but to take his wife on a trip to Europe.
Their belated honeymoon turns out to be a disaster when they accept an invitation from a rich stranger to spend a weekend in his yacht sailing through Monaco. The story seems like one of Agatha Christie’s mystery stories when the passengers begin to be murdered.
In the second “Murder Mystery,” the storyline follows the Spitzes, who quit their jobs to become private detectives. They are invited to a wedding on a private island but things get off track when the groom is kidnapped and the list of suspects is small.
Taking a different speed from the first film, where there is slow tension being built and the audience can understand the suspects clearly, everything shifts fast in the sequel. “Murder Mystery 2” is 20 minutes shorter than the original, compromising the story and viewers’ interest.
With less intriguing characters, Aniston and Sandler are the ones that carry the movie. Their chemistry is still untouchable and every time they are together, the audience will see them as the couple from “Just Go with It.” They are a great match and possibly the only thing that worked in “Murder Mystery 2.”
Maybe the change of directors and screenwriters was why the movie flowed poorly. It seemed that the newbies tried to copy and paste the first movie, creating a plot so similar that it makes the audience notice who’s the killer in the first 30 minutes of the film.
Even with a talented bunch of actors in the sequel, like “Black Panther’s” John Kani, “Shazam’s” Mark Strong and an Aniston-Sandler reunion, the movie just fails to deliver a new murder mystery. Like the Spitzes marriage, this movie fell into conventionality and even though it hurts, the audience should hope there isn’t a third “Murder Mystery.”
Follow Elise on Twitter @elisefacoelho
