Murder Mystery 2

2023 American film by Jeremy Garelick

Not to be confused with Murder Mystery 2 (game).

Murder Mystery 2

Official release poster

Directed by| Jeremy Garelick
Written by| James Vanderbilt
Based on| Characters
by James Vanderbilt
Produced by|

* Adam Sandler
* Allen Covert
* Tripp Vinson
* Jennifer Aniston
* James Vanderbilt
* James D. Stern

Starring|

* Adam Sandler
* Jennifer Aniston
* Mark Strong
* Mélanie Laurent
* Jodie Turner-Smith
* John Kani

Cinematography| Bojan Bazelli
Edited by|

* Tom Costain
* Brian Robinson

Music by| Rupert Gregson-Williams

Production
companies

* Happy Madison Productions
* Echo Films
* Endgame Entertainment
* Mythology Entertainment
* Vinson Films

Distributed by| Netflix

Release date

* March 31, 2023 (2023-03-31)

Running time

| 89 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

Murder Mystery 2 is a 2023 American action comedy mystery film directed by Jeremy Garelick and written by James Vanderbilt. It is a sequel to the 2019 film Murder Mystery, and it stars Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston with Mark Strong, Mélanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith and John Kani.

Murder Mystery 2 was released by Netflix on March 31, 2023. Like the original film, it received mixed reviews from critics.

## Plot

[edit]

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Nick and Audrey Spitz work as full-time private detectives, although their agency falls on hard times after a few bad cases. One night, while arguing about which direction to take their careers, the Spitzes receive a call from their friend, the Maharajah Vikram, who invites them to his wedding on his private island.

At the ceremony, Audrey notices a cloaked figure following Vik's elephant. A dead body falls from the elephant and turns out to be Lou, the bodyguard. Nick suspects that it is a diversion and watches Vik's abduction by a mysterious figure who leaves the island on a boat. The couple determines that at least two perpetrators must have been involved: one to create the diversion and the other to kidnap Vik.

The next morning, the group is joined by a team of professional detectives, led by former MI6 hostage negotiator Connor Miller. The kidnapper calls and demands a ransom of $70 million in exchange for Vik, arranging a meeting at the Arc de Triomphe.

Traveling to Paris, Miller takes Nick and Audrey to the exchange point. The kidnappers force the couple into a van at gunpoint. A fight ensues and the van crashes. The kidnappers frame Nick and Audrey for Vik's abduction and Miller is seemingly killed when his car explodes after taking back the briefcase of money. A mysterious figure retrieves the briefcase but is immediately run down by a second assailant in a garbage truck, who takes the briefcase and speeds off.

With the assistance of Inspector Delacroix, Nick and Audrey trace the truck to a countryside château where they are ambushed by Sekou and Imani, who, while admitting to trying to steal the money, insist they are not the kidnappers. Sekou shoots Imani and attempts to kill the couple by knocking over a candle to ignite the room, but is shot dead by a dying Imani.

Nick and Audrey escape and call Delacroix and the others, requesting Vik be brought to the Le Jules Verne restaurant at the Eiffel Tower. Vik appears at the rendezvous, strapped into a bomb vest. Nick reasons that the killer would never jeopardize the ransom. The bomb's countdown is suspended, and Miller, the mastermind of the abduction, appears; he had faked his death by hiding in a bomb-proof titanium chamber within the car. He attempts to kill the group, but Audrey clings to his harness and is pulled to the top floor.

Nick pursues them, subdues Miller's men, and destroys the detonator to the bomb vest. Miller throws Audrey, who is still connected to his harness, off the tower. The two men engage in hand-to-hand combat, culminating with Nick opening the briefcase and dispersing the money into the wind.

Audrey reappears and Nick helps her tie Miller's harness to the tower's elevator mechanism, throwing him into the rotor blades of his getaway helicopter, which explodes and crashes into the Seine.

Returning to the restaurant, Audrey mistakes Saira's darkened arm for blood, but Saira insists that her henna smeared during the commotion. Audrey remarks that once dried, henna does not smear. She recalls that Saira was not present when Vik's elephant was ushered into the reception ceremony, and realizes that the clothes of the cloaked figure who killed Lou were stained by wet henna, not blood. This reveals Saira as the second conspirator, as well as the one who had previously made an attempt on Vik’s life in Mumbai, out of anger that he was made heir to their parents’ company over her. Exposed, Saira attempts to shoot Vik, but he is shielded by Ulenga, who takes the bullet. Claudette then knocks her out with the briefcase.

With the commotion concluded, Vik and Claudette decide to elope and later give Nick and Audrey $10 million and the use of Vik's helicopter. On a honeymoon in Greece, they are accosted in air at gunpoint by their supposedly European helicopter pilot, who turns out to be American; he steals the money and jumps out of the helicopter, leaving them scrambling for the controls.

## Cast

[edit]

* Adam Sandler as Nick Spitz
* Jennifer Aniston as Audrey Spitz
* Mark Strong as Connor Miller
* Mélanie Laurent as Claudette Joubert
* Jodie Turner-Smith as Countess Sekou
* John Kani as Colonel Charles Ulenga
* Kuhoo Verma as Saira Govindan
* Dany Boon as Inspector Laurent Delacroix
* Adeel Akhtar as Vikram Shivan Govindan, the Maharajah
* Enrique Arce as Francisco Perez
* Zurin Villanueva as Imani
* Jillian Bell as Susan
* Tony Goldwyn as Ron Silverfox
* Annie Mumolo as Mrs. Silverfox
* Myo Leong as Mr. Lou
* Carlos Ponce as Shitz helicopter pilot

## Production

[edit]

### Development

[edit]

In October 2019, it was announced that a sequel to Murder Mystery was in development with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston reprising their roles.[1] In August 2021, Jeremy Garelick was hired as director, from a script by James Vanderbilt, with the filming of the sequel to take place in Paris and in the Caribbean.[2] Sandler and Aniston had confirmed their returns during the September 2021 Tudum Global Fan Event.[3]

In January 2022, it was reported that Adeel Akhtar and John Kani would be reprising their roles from the first film, with Mark Strong, Mélanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith, Kuhoo Verma, Enrique Arce, Tony Goldwyn, Annie Mumolo, and Zurin Villanueva joining the film as newcomers.[4]

### Filming

[edit]

Principal photography began in January 2022 in Hawaii[4][5] and ended on April 8, 2022 in Paris, France.[6][7]

The top three levels of the Eiffel Tower were recreated for the movie, but some stunts were actually shot on the tower itself.[8] The Indian wedding dance scene was shot in Paris and choreographed by Mahina Khanum.[9]

## Release

[edit]

Murder Mystery 2 was released by Netflix[10] on March 31, 2023. It reached Netflix's top 10 in over 90 countries.[11]

Between its release and June 2023, the film totaled 173.6 million hours watched (equal to 117 million views).[12]

## Reception

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 45% of 95 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "A genially mediocre sequel to its similarly middling predecessor, Murder Mystery 2 could have been much better… and a whole lot worse."[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 44 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[14]

### Accolades

[edit]

Adam Sandler won the award for Best Comedic Performance at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards.[15]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kit, Borys (October 11, 2019). "'Murder Mystery' Sequel in the Works at Netflix (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
2. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (August 17, 2021). "Jeremy Garelick To Direct Netflix 'Murder Mystery' Sequel; Jennifer Aniston & Adam Sandler Circling". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
3. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (September 25, 2021). "Murder Mystery 2: Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler Set to Return for Sequel to Hit Netflix Movie". TVLine. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
4. ^ a b Galuppo, Mia (January 24, 2022). "Jodie Turner-Smith, Mark Strong Join Netflix's 'Murder Mystery 2'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
5. ^ Brathwaite, Lester Fabian (February 7, 2022). "Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler are living their best lives on the set of Murder Mystery 2". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
6. ^ Jakiel, Olivia (April 8, 2022). "Jennifer Aniston Wraps Filming Netflix's Murder Mystery 2 with Adam Sandler: 'Merci Paris'". People. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
7. ^ Hoke, Carlie (April 11, 2022). "Murder Mystery 2 Has Wrapped, See How Adam Sandler And Jennifer Aniston Celebrated". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
8. ^ Brazier, Tori (March 31, 2023). "Murder Mystery 2 one of first films allowed to do a stunt at the Eiffel Tower". Metro. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
9. ^ Vergne, Charline (April 9, 2023). "Murder Mystery 2 (Netflix) : Mélanie Laurent a vécu une expérience chaotique sur le tournage". www.programme-tv.net (in French). Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
10. ^ Chitwood, Adam (January 18, 2023). "Netflix Sets Release Dates for 'Extraction 2', David Fincher's 'The Killer', Zack Snyder's 'Rebel Moon' and More (Video)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
11. ^ "Murder Mystery 2 just hit a streaming milestone on Netflix". The Independent. April 5, 2023. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
12. ^ "What Was Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report". Netflix. December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
13. ^ "Murder Mystery 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
14. ^ "Murder Mystery 2". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
15. ^ Petski, Denise (April 5, 2023). "MTV Movie & TV Awards: Top Gun: Maverick, Stranger Things, The Last Of Us Lead 2023 Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Murder Mystery 2 on Netflix
* Murder Mystery 2 at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Adam Sandler

* Filmography
* Awards and nominations

Studio albums|

* They're All Gonna Laugh at You! (1993)
* What the Hell Happened to Me? (1996)
* What's Your Name? (1997)
* Stan and Judy's Kid (1999)
* Shhh... Don't Tell (2004)

Songs|

* "The Thanksgiving Song"
* "The Chanukah Song"

Comedy specials|

* Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh (2018)
* Adam Sandler: Love You (2024)

Films|

| Written|

* Going Overboard (1989)
* Billy Madison (1995)
* Happy Gilmore (1996)
* The Waterboy (1998)
* Big Daddy (1999)
* Little Nicky (2000)
* Eight Crazy Nights (2002, also produced)
* You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008, also produced)
* Grown Ups (2010, also produced)
* Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011, also produced)
* Jack and Jill (2011, also produced)
* Grown Ups 2 (2013, also produced)
* Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
* The Ridiculous 6 (2015, also produced)
* Sandy Wexler (2017, also produced)
* The Week Of (2018, also produced)
* Hubie Halloween (2020, also produced)
* Leo (2023, also produced)
* Happy Gilmore 2 (2025, also produced)

|

Produced only|

* Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)
* Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005)
* The Benchwarmers (2006)
* Click (2006)
* I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)
* The House Bunny (2008)
* Bedtime Stories (2008)
* Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)
* Just Go with It (2011)
* Zookeeper (2011)
* That's My Boy (2012)
* Blended (2014)
* Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)
* Pixels (2015)
* The Do-Over (2016)
* Murder Mystery (2019)
* Home Team (2022)
* Hustle (2022)
* Murder Mystery 2 (2023)
* The Out-Laws (2023)
* You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023)
* Kinda Pregnant (2025)
* Don't Say Good Luck

Skits|

* "Gay Robot"

Related|

* Happy Madison Productions

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Jeremy Garelick

* The Wedding Ringer (2015)
* The Binge (2020)
* Murder Mystery 2 (2023)
* Rolling Loud (2026)

* v
* t
* e

Happy Madison Productions

Films|

* Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)
* Little Nicky (2000)
* The Animal (2001)
* Joe Dirt (2001)
* Mr. Deeds (2002)
* The Master of Disguise (2002)
* Eight Crazy Nights (2002)
* The Hot Chick (2002)
* Anger Management (2003)
* Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)
* 50 First Dates (2004)
* The Longest Yard (2005)
* Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005)
* Grandma's Boy (2006)
* The Benchwarmers (2006)
* Click (2006)
* I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)
* Reign Over Me (2007)
* Strange Wilderness (2008)
* The House Bunny (2008)
* You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)
* Bedtime Stories (2008)
* Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)
* The Shortcut (2009)
* Funny People (2009)
* Grown Ups (2010)
* Just Go with It (2011)
* Zookeeper (2011)
* Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011)
* Jack and Jill (2011)
* That's My Boy (2012)
* Here Comes the Boom (2012)
* Grown Ups 2 (2013)
* Blended (2014)
* Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)
* Pixels (2015)
* Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser (2015)
* The Ridiculous 6 (2015)
* The Do-Over (2016)
* Sandy Wexler (2017)
* The Week Of (2018)
* Father of the Year (2018)
* Murder Mystery (2019)
* The Wrong Missy (2020)
* Hubie Halloween (2020)
* Home Team (2022)
* Hustle (2022)
* Murder Mystery 2 (2023)
* The Out-Laws (2023)
* You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023)
* Leo (2023)
* Kinda Pregnant (2025)
* Happy Gilmore 2 (2025)
* Don't Say Good Luck (TBA)

Specials|

* Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh (2018)
* Adam Sandler: Love You (2024)

Television|

* Rules of Engagement (2007–13)
* The Gong Show with Dave Attell (2008)
* Nick Swardson's Pretend Time (2010–11)
* Breaking In (2011–12)
* The Goldbergs (2013–23)
* Imaginary Mary (2017)
* Schooled (2019–20)

Key people|

* Adam Sandler
* Allen Covert
* Jack Giarraputo
* Tim Herlihy
* Heather Parry

* v
* t
* e

Jennifer Aniston

* Filmography
* Awards and nominations

Films|

| Directed|

* "Mia" in Five (2011)

|

Produced|

* Murder Mystery 2 (2023)

Related|

* Rachel Green
* The Rachel
* Plan B Entertainment
* Echo Films
* Jennifer Aniston Goes Viral
* Nancy Dow (mother)
* John Aniston (father)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template