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.

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.

"Murder Mystery 2" might be the epitome of what amounts to a "Netflix movie," which is to say that as long as you're paying for a subscription already, ...

The two thus jump at the opportunity to attend a destination wedding on an island paradise thrown by the Maharajah (Adeel Akhtar), who is marrying Claudette (Mélanie Laurent, like most of the supporting cast, deserving better), who has “trophy wife” written all over her. The sequel charitably shoots for a sort of more violent “The Thin Man” vibe, but about the best one can say for the movie is that it’s mercifully short. The near-four-year gap between movies does help in one respect, allowing people to largely forget what left them unimpressed about the original.

Découvrez la critique du film Murder Mystery 2 de Jeremy Garelick - Après avoir explosé les compteurs de vues avec Murder Mystery, Netflix n'a évidemment ...

Et si le résultat est loin d'être à la hauteur et que le film ne lui rend donc pas tout à fait honneur, il est trop rare qu'une production de ce type se donne la peine de réaliser une séquence aussi impressionnante pour ne pas la souligner. Si Aniston a évidemment été doublée pour la cascade, la scène a vraiment été tournée au troisième étage de la tour (soit du jamais vu). D'ailleurs, la plus grande énigme de ce Murder Mystery 2 ne se trouve pas à l'intérieur du film, mais bien dans sa conception même : comment James Vanderbilt a pu passer de Zodiac de David Fincher (oui oui) à Total Recall : Mémoires programmées, Scream 5 et 6 et donc les Murder Mystery ? La course-poursuite à bord d'une camionnette évoque légèrement Les Blues Brothers quand le climax se déroulant sur la tour Eiffel pastiche à la fois l'humour d'un Austin Powers et l'ampleur d'un Mission : Impossible ou d'un James Bond (une influence évidente au vu des nombreux clins d'oeil à la franchise). un meurtre, toujours avec [James Vanderbilt](https://www.ecranlarge.com/personnalite/652879-james-vanderbilt) aux commandes du scénario, aidé par [Jeremy Garelick](https://www.ecranlarge.com/personnalite/667980-jeremy-garelick), nouveau venu à l'écriture et à la réalisation. Difficile de savoir par où commencer la critique d'un film aussi vide de sens et d'intérêt que Murder Mystery 2 ?

Succès surprise au point de se glisser dans le top cinq des films originaux Netflix les plus vus de la plate-forme de streaming, la comédie policière avec ...

Murder Mystery 2 ne réserve aucune surprise, mais fonctionne parfaitement dans sa nature de produit de consommation dont la mission serait d’occuper toute la famille pendant un peu moins de deux heures. Au bout, on n’est pas mécontents de les quitter, mais on n’était pas mécontents non plus de les retrouver. On reprend le couple drôle et attachant, un casting international (pauvre Mélanie Laurent) et des destinations touristiques pour donner envie au public américain. Le vrai mystère sera alors de se demander si le scénariste James Vanderbilt a sciemment joué au jeu des sept différences comme pour insérer un clin d’oeil humoristique au spectateur ou, au contraire, il aura juste obéit aveuglement à des producteurs désireux de reproduire leur coup de poker en usant des mêmes cartes. Si Rian Johnson parvenait à renouveler son Cluedo entre À Couteaux Tirées et Glass Onion, prouvant qu’on pouvait toujours jouer avec le genre ; Murder Mystery 2 a préféré se reposer sur ses acquis et on a droit à littéralement la même recette que son prédécesseur. On retrouve donc notre couple Audrey (Jennifer Aniston) et Nick Spitz (Adam Sandler) alors que leur agence de détectives récemment ouverte bat déjà de l’aile.

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.

Murder Mystery 2 doubles down on the action and twists of the first movie but not the comedy.

So long as Sandler also makes the time now and then to star in genuinely interesting films for Netflix (The Meyerowitz Stories, Uncut Gems, Hustle), then no one is being hurt. Honestly, by this point in the streaming wars, I can only admire Sandler for exploiting the system to make gobs of money for himself and his buds, including Aniston, whose appearance here marks her third collaboration with the Sand Man, now tying the actor’s previous onscreen paramour, Drew Barrymore, for easy paydays. The stars get a nice vacation, and Netflix subscribers get a half- or really quarter-hearted comedy that can be thrown on as background noise on a Saturday night.

Détectives privés à la tête de leur propre agence, Audrey et Nick Spitz n'obtiennent pas le succès escompté. Ils acceptent l'invitation que leur lance leur ...

Jennifer Aniston et Adam Sandler, qui se sont donné la réplique dans la comédie sentimentale Just Go With It (Méchant menteur), en 2011, donnent l’impression de franchement s’amuser dans Murder Mystery 2, qui se déroule quatre ans après le premier opus. Malgré un accueil tiède des critiques, la comédie policière s’est hissée en tête du palmarès des nouvelles productions les plus populaires sur la plateforme cette année-là, films et séries télévisées confondus. En 2019, Netflix a remporté un énorme succès avec le film Murder Mystery, mettant en vedette Jennifer Aniston et Adam Sandler.

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler star in Murder Mystery 2 on Netflix. The comedy was filmed at incredible locations in Hawaii and France.

[Paris](https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/a41090204/paris-travel-guide/), the production tapped a few iconic locations. [Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte](https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=74968X1525080&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvaux-le-vicomte.com%2Fen%2Fdecouvrir%2Fthe-chateau%2F) located in Maincy, France. The lagoon is part of the Lanikuhonua [nature preserve](https://www.lanikuhonua.com/) on [Ko Olina](http://koolina.com/destination/). [Jennifer Aniston](https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/entertainment/a43029690/jennifer-aniston-54th-birthday-rare-throwback-instagram-photo/) and [Adam Sandler](https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/a36147051/oreo-cookie-creator-home-sale/) are back as a bickering, crime-solving duo in Murder Mystery 2. [National World](https://www.nationalworld.com/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/netflixs-murder-mystery-2-filming-locations-sequel-filmed-eiffel-tower-stunt-4087135) reports. At the estate, visitors can [tour the château, gardens, and carriage museum](https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=74968X1525080&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvaux-le-vicomte.com%2Fen%2Fprepare-your-visit%2Fprice%2F). [Emily in Paris](https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/entertainment/a42201971/emily-in-paris-season-three-filming-locations/) and [first season of](https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/a37329765/hbo-the-white-lotus-four-seasons-resort-maui-at-wailea-hawaii/) [ The White Lotus](https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/a37329765/hbo-the-white-lotus-four-seasons-resort-maui-at-wailea-hawaii/). Ahead, find out everything we know about the [filming locations](https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/entertainment/a41968608/wednesday-filming-locations-romania-castle/) that'll certainly serve as major inspiration for your next trip. On [The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon](https://youtu.be/RFyCpVe0kDs), Adam Sandler revealed a scene was actually filmed at the Eiffel Tower. Now streaming on [Netflix](https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/entertainment/a42042041/wednesday-netflix-set-design/), the comedy follows the amateur detectives as they attend an incredible island wedding—only for it to be disrupted when someone is murdered and their friend is kidnapped. The Arc de Triomphe was selected as the location for where the detectives Nick and Audrey Sptiz (played by Sandler and Aniston) are asked to bring the ransom money in exchange for their friend. While the majority of 2019’s Murder Mystery was filmed in Italy, the sequel takes place in equally idyllic locations in Hawaii and France.

You would have a hard time defending the limp plotting, the bland action-adventure set pieces or the Agatha Christie-light whodunit twists of the first ...

All of this may lend some scale to “Murder Mystery 2” but it’s no help to the comedy. For those who have accused Sandler of using movies as an excuse to hang out with friends in beautiful locales, the “Murder Mystery” movies won’t disappoint. But like those films, everything in “Murder Mystery” and “Murder Mystery 2” is secondary, and distantly so, to the comic and sweet rapport between the Spitzes, a bickering but lovingly connected married couple. And this one, in which Jeremy Garelick (writer of “The Hangover”) takes over directing with James Vanderbilt returning to write the screenplay, starts out like a new season to a TV series, with a narrated recap of what the Spitzes have been up to since the last film. Like its predecessor, “Murder Mystery 2” is built on old-fashioned star power and the interplay between Sandler and Aniston. “Murder Mystery” and its new sequel don’t have anywhere near the sparkle of the “The Thin Man” movies, with William Powell, Myrna Loy and their wire fox terrier Asta.

Après une première enquête astucieuse, parodie de “whodunit” façon Agatha Christie, le couple de détectives joué par Jennifer Aniston et Adam Sandler ...

Ici, l’intrigue débute sur une île privée – pour le mariage d’un milliardaire indien –, exactement comme dans [Glass Onion](https://www.telerama.fr/ecrans/glass-onion-une-histoire-a-couteaux-tires-sur-netflix-une-suite-moins-piquante-mais-plus-tranchante-7013593.php) (2022). La plateforme mise, une fois de plus, sur le charme du couple Jennifer Aniston et Adam Sandler – qui avait prouvé son alchimie dans [Le Mytho](https://www.telerama.fr/cinema/films/le-mytho-just-go-with-it,426014.php) (2011) –, ex-coiffeuse et ex-flic devenus détectives. En revanche, la séquence la plus ambitieuse s’avère plombée par un découpage calamiteux, entre terrasse en suspension du restaurant Jules Verne et structure métallique de la tour Eiffel. [Murder Mystery](https://www.telerama.fr/cinema/murder-mystery-sur-netflix-jennifer-aniston-et-adam-sandler-sont-dans-un-bateau...,n6311377.php), plaisante comédie policière disponible sur Netflix depuis 2019. Dans cette poussive comédie d’action, il y a bien une ou deux scènes à sauver, comme cette bagarre-fusillade sanglante à l’arrière d’un van lancé à vive allure sur les quais de Seine. Les astuces « méta », qui faisaient du premier volet une parodie de whodunit façon Agatha Christie, disparaissent au profit de facilités d’écriture.