Murder Mystery 2 2023

In the midst of a professional dry spell, Nick (Adam Sandler) and Audrey Spitz (Jennifer Aniston), erstwhile Monte Carlo thrill-seekers turned private detectives, find themselves at the mercy of circumstance as they attend the lavish wedding celebration on the private island of their friend Vikram “The Maharajah” Govindan (Adeel Akhtar). The couple’s hope is that this high-profile association will breathe new life into their struggling detective agency and restore its tarnished reputation.

As the sun sets over the island, Nick and Audrey mingle with the eclectic cast of characters, including Vik’s French fiancée Claudette Joubert (Mélanie Laurent), his flirtatious business partner Francisco Perez (Enrique Arce), who boasts a rather astonishing claim to fame - having allegedly slept with 10,000 women. They also meet the former flame Countess Sekou (Jodie Turner-Smith) and her lady-in-waiting Imani (Zurin Villanueva), as well as Vik’s reserved sister Saira (Kuhoo Verma) and his intimidating bodyguard Lou (Myo Leong). The gathering is further enriched by the presence of Colonel Ulenga (John Kani), a familiar face from their past, who has recently returned from Mumbai with a striking physical alteration - the loss of his left arm, a testament to his bravery in saving Vik’s life.

As the festivities unfold, Audrey’s keen observational skills alert her to a mysterious figure lurking near Vik’s elephant. The unexpected appearance of a lifeless body, which is later revealed to be Lou’s, sets off a chain reaction of events. Nick’s intuition suggests that this is merely a ruse, and he watches in horror as Vik is whisked away by an unseen perpetrator. With the realization that they have once again stumbled into a web of intrigue, the couple deduces that at least two individuals were involved: one to create the diversion and another to orchestrate Vik’s disappearance.

Francisco offers a cryptic insight, hinting that Claudette had been forced to sign a draconian prenuptial agreement before marrying Vik, while Saira expresses her misgivings about Claudette’s suitability for Vik. The would-be bride herself reveals that Vik was privy to Francisco’s dark secret, and Sekou drops a bombshell - Francisco has accumulated an astonishing 85 paternity suits against him and is secretly siphoning funds from the company to settle these claims.

The next morning, Nick and Audrey are joined by a team of professional detectives led by the formidable Connor Miller (Mark Strong), a former MI6 hostage negotiator. As the pair attempts to impress Miller with their skills, they find themselves being viewed as suspects due to their struggling detective agency’s financial woes. The kidnapper then makes contact, issuing an ultimatum - Nick must deliver a ransom of $70 million to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in exchange for Vik’s safe return.

As Miller escorts Nick and Audrey to the exchange point in Paris, a tense scenario unfolds. Under the threat of guns, the couple is forced into a van, sparking a desperate struggle that ultimately results in the kidnappers’ demise and the vehicle careening into Café Procope. As chaos erupts, it becomes clear that they are being framed for Vik’s abduction, with fabricated footage depicting Nick fleeing the tent brandishing a knife. Miller intervenes, revealing that the incriminating evidence is nothing more than a sophisticated deep-fake. He then commandeers the briefcase containing the $70 million ransom and requests their meeting at La Madeleine before his apparent demise in a car explosion. A mysterious figure swoops in to steal the case, only to be relieved of it when struck by a passing truck - the driver sauntering away with the prize.

Nick and Audrey seek the assistance of Inspector Laurent Delacroix (Dany Boon) as they trace the stolen briefcase to a rural chateau. However, their investigation is met with hostility from Sekou and Imani, who insist on claiming the ransom for themselves. The situation escalates when Sekou shoots Imani and attempts to kill the couple, only to be felled by a dying Imani’s bullet. Nick and Audrey manage to escape and alert de la Croix and their allies, requesting that they convey a message to the kidnappers: Vik is to be brought to Le Jules Verne at the Eiffel Tower in exchange for the ransom.

Vik eventually appears at the designated location, bound to a bomb-laden vest. Nick astutely deduces that the true mastermind behind the abduction would never jeopardize the payoff. As predicted, the countdown on Vik’s bomb is paused, and Miller - the maestro of deception - materializes; he had cleverly hidden in a bomb-proof titanium chamber within his car mere moments before its explosion. With Susan (Jillian Bell), a lonely widow searching for her long-lost love Gary (who had promised to meet at the Eiffel Tower after 10 years on this very night), Miller attempts to eliminate the group. Audrey, however, clings tenaciously to Miller’s harness and is pulled toward the top floor.

Nick gives chase, disarming Miller’s henchmen and destroying the detonator. As the stakes escalate, Miller discards Audrey - still connected to his harness - from the tower’s peak. The two men engage in a fierce hand-to-hand combat, which culminates with Nick opening the briefcase, releasing the $70 million into the Parisian wind, as the city skyline twinkles in the background.

As the stakes reach a fever pitch, the group’s combined efforts pay off as Vik’s explosive device is successfully disarmed. Meanwhile, Susan tends to de la Croix, who has suffered a gunshot wound at the hands of Miller. The sparks fly between Susan and de la Croix as he teaches her the art of creating intricate smoke circles with his vape, marking the beginning of an unlikely romance.

Above, Audrey makes a dramatic reentrance on the top floor, where she assists Nick in securing Miller’s harness to the elevator mechanism, ultimately sending him careening into the rotor blades of his getaway helicopter. The chopper explodes and crashes spectacularly into the Seine River below.

As order is restored at the restaurant, Audrey misreads Saira’s darkened hand for blood, but Saira insists that her henna design was merely smudged by the chaos surrounding Vik’s elephant, which had been ushered into the reception ceremony without her knowledge. This revelation sparks a memory in Audrey - she recalls the cloaked figure who killed Lou had a distinctive wet henna stain on their clothing. The truth begins to unravel: Saira is the second conspirator, fueled by resentment towards Vik’s parents for giving him sole control over the business. Her previous attempts to kill Vik in Mumbai had been thwarted, and now she seeks to finish the job.

Exposed, Saira attempts to take aim at Vik, but Ulenga absorbs the blow, sacrificing his right arm in the process. Claudette then intervenes, using a briefcase to knock Saira unconscious. As the dust settles, Vik and Claudette decide to escape the chaos and start anew, leaving Nick and Audrey with a surprise gift of $10 million (hidden within a dinosaur-print leather briefcase worth an additional $3 million).

Their newfound wealth in hand, Vik and Claudette embark on a romantic getaway to Greece, only to be ambushed by their supposedly European helicopter pilot - revealed to be an American operative. The pilot makes off with the millions and abandons ship, leaving the couple scrambling for control of the helicopter as they plummet towards the Mediterranean horizon.