The Thursday Murder Club (2025) Review - Whodunnit leaves much to be questioned

For anyone who has stepped foot in a Waterstones in the last few years, I'm certain you'll have seen Richard Osman's hit series The Thursday Murder Club advertised. Although familiar with the premise and author through cultural osmosis I have never read the books - true crime generally has never been my thing so my expectations for this film adaptation was admittedly low. And yet the film was still a disappointment.

The Thursday Murder Club (2025) is a stylistic and narrative bore, boasting all the shortcomings of modern British cinema's worst trends and delivering a film that plays out more like a bog-standard television pilot than a witty whodunnit. In an age of British cinema where it feels like innovative new visions aren't being given the attention they need, such a cookie-cutter film that will be lost in the endless Netflix content farm rings as sinister to me.

This is not to say I need the film to be realistic or hold some far deeper meaning, far from that in fact. Even if as I said, the premise of pensioners solving true crime cases doesn't click for me I do see some potential for a creative subversion of many noir and British crime tropes. If we can't get give the more cutting edge of British films the mainstream attention then at least we can try make our pure entertainment some degree of novelty.

It's a comedy! Why is the film so adverse to finding humour in its camera, in its setting, in its genre cliches! And for gods sake when can we address the colour grading in all our films! There is so much potential here for a comedy far funnier and far more memorable, just look at the talent involved. Chris Columbus has made some incredible comedies and family entrainment; need I remind you this is the same director as Home Alone (1990). Seeing such a muted aesthetic and script feels symptomatic of the perils the streaming era has brought to film.

Yet, the film isn't a complete trainwreck. I may have criticised the script for failing to explore the comedy and mystery it holds but that means there must be some effective jokes and themes in action. The film could get the occasional laugh from me and what little the film touches on aging and death was genuinely interesting. I understand the need for restraint but I think they could've pushed the envelope a little further in either jokes or emotion because its clear that there was better potential here.

Perhaps, I've been too harsh on this "cosy" film considering I generally champion non-arthouse experiences as still worthy of praise and respect but like I said, the "cosyness" here felt wrong. While the film isn't offensively bad it isn't offensively memorable either which sent me down a spiral of contemplating just how much value streaming films are going to be receiving. I won't refute any accusations I'm overreacting but as I stand right now, please Britain less of these substance avert fodder.

2/5