Review: "The Thursday Murder Club"

Review: “The Thursday Murder Club”

The Thursday Murder Club is a fun ride full of twists, turns and senior citizen teamwork. Netflix has done a nice job with this new murder mystery, based on the novel of the same name by Richard Osman. Released just this weekend, I really liked it and here are my thoughts:

The Thursday Murder Club takes place at a fictional retirement home in County Kent, England. Instead of knitting or doing puzzles, four retirees there decide they would rather solve murder mysteries, turning to the “cold case” files. As they investigate one of the mysteries, they uncover a plot by a greedy real estate tycoon to destroy their retirement home for a new event center.

Just like in the recently released “Fantastic Four: The First Steps,” “The Thursday Murder Club,” also has a fantastic team of four: Oscar-winner Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie. Rather than rely on make-believe superpowers, this group relies on wisdom, a little humor, and even some MI-6 training.

Mirren portrays a clever former British spy, Elizabeth Best, who is stubborn in her pursuit of catching the killer. She reminds us a bit of Dame Angela Lansbury’s Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996). Elizabeth’s friends are: Ron Ritchie, a former Union Leader (played by Brosnan — comical because he plays the “muscle” and is cast way against type. Ibrahim Arif, a former psychologist (played by Kingsley), brings the “book smarts.”Joyce Meadowcroft, a former nurse (played by Imrie) takes care of everyone, mostly by baking them cake. 

The supporting cast includes Naomi Ackie, David Tennant, Tom Ellis, Oscar-nominee Jonathan Pryce, and Oscar-nominee Richard E. Grant (who co-starred with Dame Helen Mirren in the murder-mystery Gosford Park (2001)). The film is directed by the legendary Chris Columbus, director of: Home Alone (1990) and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) (as well as the first sequels to both movies,) and Thomas Newman composed the music. (Newman currently holds the Oscar record as composer who was been nominated the most times but never won. He has nominated 15 times, including The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and 1917 (2020), and many others).

Overall, “The Thursday Murder Club,” is a surprisingly entertaining film. A little suspense, combined with clever humor, goes a long way. It could also leave audiences hoping for a sequel, which has yet to be confirmed. There are currently three sequels in the book series: The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet That Missed, and The Last Devil to Die. Richard Osman has also announced that a fifth book is planned to be released in 2025.

A teamwork message is something that everyone can appreciate, and I also really appreciated how funny it was. Their scheming often leads to embarrassment, but as they work together — uncovering several unexpectedly guilty parties — the conclusion to their mystery is satisfying for the audience as well.