REVIEW: 'The Thursday Murder Club' Is A Charming And Delightful Murder Mystery
- Christopher Mills
- 2 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Netflix isn’t foreign to a murder mystery movie, a good one at that. Rian Johnson has blessed our screens with Knives Out, we recently got the Emmy-nominated The Residence, and now Home Alone and Harry Potter alumnus Chris Columbus gives it a shot by bringing The Thursday Murder Club, yet another murder mystery, to the streaming service. If this movie is anything to go by, continue bringing more murder mysteries to the platform, especially if it means we get to see more of the Thursday Murder Club.Â
The Thursday Murder Club is based on the 2020 novel of the same name written by Richard Osman. If you take the simple premise of Only Murders in the Building and Murder, She Wrote and mix it with the ensemble and star power of Knives Out, you get The Thursday Murder Club, which is a light-hearted (par the murder), entertaining watch about the elderly who could well be your own grandparents.
In reality and most films, retirement homes are depicted as the place you never want to get sent to once you reach that certain age. The thought of even sending your own parent/grandparent to a retirement home is one that always hurts as you worry for their treatment and their sanity. That's not a worry at the Cooper Chase retirement village, where there are swimming pools and various activities for the elderly. There's even a jigsaw room which is the home for Elizabeth Best (Helen Mirren), a retired spy; Ron Ritchie (Pierce Brosnan), a retired union leader; Ibrahim Arif (Ben Kingsley), a retired war veteran psychiatrist; and their newest member, Joyce (Celia Imrie), a retired nurse. Together, they're the Thursday Murder Club, who commune in the jigsaw room on Thursdays to solve cold cases.
Throughout the movie, although they find themselves in the middle of a real ongoing murder case, they find themselves stuck on the cold case about Angela Hughes, "The Woman in White". The movie opens up on this cold case, which later has ties to the overall story, and depicts this case by displaying it as a noir story with the black and white color grading to add effect to the story. The movie doesn't have any extra use of this unfortunately and this cold case ends up having the conclusion of the film feel rather convoluted, as there isn't only one murder that takes place in this movie but several.
With the usual murder mystery, we find ourselves dealing with the one murder, but The Thursday Murder Club differentiates itself from the thousands of stories by involving several murders, delivering a layered mystery and story. While it can be a lot to follow at times, the star-studded cast really help keep this movie engaging at all times with their charm, wit and humor. There are pros and cons to this direction with the story, but overall, the writers are still able to keep the audiences on their toes at every moment, with the mystery being quite hard to solve until it reaches its climactic moments.
As important as the mystery is to the story, it's the cast of characters that lifts The Thursday Murder Club to victory. Helen Mirren takes charge as Elizabeth as she uses her skills as a retired spy to piece together the mystery, not allowing any small detail to escape her. Pierce Brosnan doesn't usually find himself in movies where he gets to play a character that's genuinely having fun and living his best life. It might not seem like his typical role, but Mamma Mia! proved that he has a calling for fun roles such as Ron, still bringing that Brosnan charm with him wherever he goes.
Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie both inject a large dose of dopamine into the movie, bringing the entire ensemble together with their witty remarks that will have you finding yourself in random outbursts of laughter. The supporting cast are just as entertaining as the lead cast, with David Tennant as Ian Ventham in a role that sees him playing the asshole (well, mind I say), and Naomi Ackie as Donna De Freitas delivering one of her most lively roles of the year, displaying the range of her acting skills as she plays the bored police officer who gets thrown into the middle of their most exciting job yet. The only casting that felt slightly misplaced comes from Richard E. Grant as Bobby Tanner, who has the least screentime out of the cast and doesn't really have much to offer in comparison to his co-stars, but that's likely due to the script and less so his performance, which is at best serviceable.
The Thursday Murder Club might be yet another murder mystery that will find itself being compared to the likes of Knives Out, but it's far from just a copycat. It's refreshing, charming and just as delightful as the cakes Joyce bakes. Chris Columbus' direction and the star-studded ensemble cast elevate a script that intends to have fun while solving a murder mystery. It doesn't shy from its themes of friendship, love and community as we witness Cooper Chase come together to keep their retirement village from being torn down by Ian. It's a cosy, feel-good movie that you can sit down on a Sunday evening (or Thursday) to watch with your family.
Rating: ★★★★☆
About The Thursday Murder Club
Premiere Date:Â August 28, 2025
Producers: Chris Columbus and Jennifer Todd
Writer: Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote
Director: Chris Columbus
Production:Â Jennifer Todd Pictures, Maiden Voyage, Amblin Entertainment
Distribution:Â Netflix
Cast:Â Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, David Tennant, Naomi Ackie, Tom Ellis, Richard E. Grant, Jonathan Pryce
Synopsis: The Map That Leads to You follows Heather (Cline), a young woman setting off on an adventure across Europe with her best friends before settling into her perfectly planned life. When she crosses paths with Jack (Apa), a magnetic and mysterious stranger, their instant spark ignites an emotional journey neither of them expected. As their connection deepens, secrets, life choices, and hidden truths will test their bond—and change her life in ways she never imagined. From director Lasse Hallström (Dear John, Safe Haven) comes this adaptation of JP Monninger's novel about love, destiny, and the courage to choose your own path.