The Thursday Murder Club

Chris Columbus is a great director but he did terribly with this movie. Plodding and unimaginative, it looked like a TV series where the director has 5 days to get the show in the can. Wide shot, single, single, OK next setup.

The actors never seemed to find the characters but I don't blame them as all the did was stand in a row delivering their lines. Even actors as skilled as these are need something to work with.

I liked the book and was looking forward to the movie but I almost bailed halfway through because I was so disappointed.

Enjoyable, but this film leaves too little time to get to know the characters. A series with one season per book would have been fabulous. I am in doubt whether Pierce Brosnan was a good casting for Ron, but Mirren, Kingsley and Imrie were spot on. The result is watchable, but I highly recommend you to read the books, they are splendid.

I have to be honest, I was expecting something much closer in content to the book, and the changes were not, in my opinion, for the better. That said, it was acted well, with the exception of Pierce Brosnan's 'cockney' accent. (It was all over the place!) If there is to be a sequel (and I hope there is), I look forward to the characters being developed as they are in the books. Bogdan included!

If they continue with the other books, they need to make them a series. This movie had everything it needed to be a standout, except a good script. Even if I hadn't read the books I think it would feel rushed. There's just no real build up to the solution. It's very abrupt. Looking at the credits for the 2 writers it's not surprising the script is subpar. Neither has written anything outstanding. Having read the books it's even worse. To fit the limited time frame they made too many changes and oversimplified the plot. Additionally, with a murder mystery series you have to take time to build the characters and their relationships. With this type of mystery, 2 hours just isn't enough time to do either. I was left wondering if they spent too much of the budget on the cast and didn't have enough left to do justice to the story. I'm hoping they learn from the mistake and make the next one a series, or at least a much longer movie. With the one killer saying it was an accident, they could still do a course correction to include the character in the future as is done in the books. But looking at the ratings they may not continue at all. I'll never understand why Hollywood does this. They secure the rights to a popular book with a built in audience and then proceed to alienate that audience by not sticking to the source material. How does that make sense?

Rating: 6/10

Summary: The Thursday Murder Club feels like a cosy mystery built for an older audience, packed with Oscar-winning talent but light on real intrigue. More about charm, quips, and the eccentricity of its cast than the murder mystery it sets up, it works better as a gentle comedy about retirement-home sleuths than a serious whodunit. If you go in expecting a soft, inoffensive ride - something your parents or grandparents would happily enjoy - it lands well enough. If you expect something sharp or tightly plotted, it falls short.

Full Review: I found this one quite jarring at first, coming straight off Mobland and suddenly seeing Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren sharing the screen again, especially with Geoff Bell appearing briefly too. It took me a while to adjust.

The Thursday Murder Club is an odd film to place. Right away, I'd say it's a movie I think my dad - who's nearly 80 - would love. That's not a criticism so much as a reflection of who this film is really for. And honestly, that's fine, because it doesn't pretend otherwise.

What's curious is the weight of the cast: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, Tom Ellis, Jonathan Pryce, and David Tennant - directed by Chris Columbus, no less. With names like that, you'd expect something sharper, maybe even prestige-level. Instead, it plays like a cosy Sunday evening watch, designed to be as inoffensive as possible.

The story itself is a little muddled. It starts with a cold case, then shifts to a current murder, bouncing between the two while trying to juggle smaller character beats. Some of those beats - like Tom Ellis's subplot - feel unnecessary, padding out the runtime without adding much. There are fun gimmicks and jokes sprinkled throughout, but a lot of them feel more like sitcom humour than anything driving the mystery forward.

Tonally, it's closer to Only Murders in the Building than something like Knives Out. It even nods in that direction with a podcast joke that feels like a direct wink. But where Only Murders manages to keep its core mystery engaging across seasons, this film never fully commits to its own. You don't need to think too hard, and when it does try to redirect suspicion, it feels forced rather than clever.

What works best is the atmosphere. The retirement community setting is almost utopic, with its castle-like flats and eccentric residents. When the film leans into that vibe - older characters navigating friendship, mischief, and meddling in police work - it's genuinely fun. The murder plot, oddly enough, feels like the least interesting part.

In terms of performances, Mirren is the anchor, Brosnan gets a bit more to do through Ellis's character and family ties, Kingsley is barely used, and Imrie pops up enough to leave an impression. Tennant is reliably entertaining whenever he appears. No one is phoning it in, but they're also not given much to sink their teeth into.

For me, it ended up being more enjoyable as a vibe than a story. It's not really a murder mystery in the classic sense; it's a light comedy with a mystery tacked on. And as that, it succeeds - it's exactly the kind of film that parents or grandparents will love, the kind that goes down easily on a quiet night in. But for anyone expecting something sharp or layered, it's just okay.