Film Pick of the Week: Murder Mystery 2 - review by Yvette Huddleston
With comic performers as talented as Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler in the leading roles, this comedy thriller sequel is a sure-fire hit. There isn’t a great deal of substance here, but in a sense that is immaterial – the laughs and the action come thick and fast; for an action comedy it does what it says on the tin.
Sandler and Aniston reprise their roles as Nick and Audrey Spitz, a former police officer and a hairdresser who, after the events of the first movie, are now working full-time as private detectives. The business is not going as well as they had hoped though and working and living together (in a small apartment) isn’t doing much for their marriage either. So, when their millionaire friend Vikram ‘The Maharajah’ Govindan (Adeel Akhtar) invites them to his private island for the weekend to celebrate his wedding, they jump at the chance to get away for a few days’ break. However, given this is a comedy crime caper we know that their sojourn in the sun is not going to be quite as relaxing as they imagine…
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Hide AdHaving arrived at the idyllic island paradise and settled in to their luxurious suite, they join the other guests for a party on the eve on the wedding. That allows scriptwriter James Vandebilt to introduce all the characters and their possible motives for any future wrongdoing which may occur… There is Vikram’s French fiancée Claudette (Melanie Laurent) who could be a gold-digger, his flirtatious business partner Francisco Perez (Enrique Arce), his jealous ex-girlfriend Countess Sekou (Jodie Turner-Smith) and his disapproving sister Saira (Kuhoo Verma).
On the day of the wedding, disaster strikes as at the beginning of the ceremony, the groom is kidnapped. Nick and Audrey are roped in to try and rescue him and they are helped in this task by stiff upper lip English hostage situation specialist Colonel Miller (Mark Strong, giving it the full 007). The kidnappers make contact and demand that they meet at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to deliver a 70-million-dollar ransom. So, Nick and Audrey head for the French capital where more plot twists, murder and mayhem await them.
Aniston and Sandler are both well within their comfort zones here and they are perfect together as a believably bickering yet affectionate couple, the locations are stunning, the action set pieces are top-notch and the script delivers on its promise. Slick, undemanding entertainment.