When making sequels, there will always be people who hate them. Whether it’s because the story didn’t have a proper ending, the characters changed too much, or people simply want something new to complain about, most sequels don’t perform as well as the originals. Take, for example, a sequel gone wrong—Mean Girls 2. Mean Girls is referred to as a classic and will forever have a place as one of my favorite movies. However, when the sequel was released, with a fraction of the original cast and an almost copy-and-pasted plotline, it was understandably considered a failure.

One movie that far outshined the performance of most sequels made was Murder Mystery 2. After the success of the first film in 2019, Netflix decided to make a second, and while it doesn’t quite compare to the original, it still maintained the essence and humor the first one had, involving integral details and plot twists.

The movie transitioned smoothly from the first to the second as they set the stage with Nick Spitz (Adam Sandler) and his wife, Audrey (Jennifer Aniston), in the midst of their new business as private detectives. They’re called to the wedding of Vikram Govindan, the Maharajah—a character from the previous movie played by Adeel Akhtar. Once they arrive, we immediately delve into the plot with the introduction of a new set of characters, each one suspicious in their own way.

During the wedding, they notice a cloaked figure following Maharajah’s elephant. and shortly after, a dead body falls from it. Then the Maharajah is kidnapped, chaos ensues, and Nick and Audrey are involved in another murder mystery. Each character shares their own reasoning for why someone else had to be at fault, and they all end up retreating to their own rooms, suspicious of everyone else. Later, Nick and Audrey’s theory that one of the kidnappers is still on the island is confirmed when they wake up to find they were drugged the previous night.

The movie is filled with the same absurd comedic setups that are ridiculous enough to work that the original film had. After yet another high-speed car chase and murders left and right, Nick and Audrey are framed again. Although the movie falls back on similar comedic aspects as the prequel, the creators were still able to find a creative way to make it unique and keep the audiences’ interest.

Both new and old characters connect the two movies well, and the plot is easily understandable as it still maintains the complex details and plot twists that made the original so compelling. The second film was a bit more predictable than the last one, but it still kept me entertained and proved that not every sequel needs to be a bad one. 

While it doesn’t fully compare to the first Murder Mystery, the acting, plot, characters, and humor all come together to form an exciting sequel to the original masterpiece.