Written by Sam Clark 

Certificate: 12A 

Running time: 118 minutes 

Director: Chris Columbus 

Well, it appears though I am rather late to this game since I had never heard of The Thursday Murder Club, the first book in a series of murder mysterious written by Pointless co-host Richard Osman. But as I have just discovered, the target demographic primarily consists of women in their fifties and above (purely judging from who was in my screening). One could say it was destined to fly under my radar, but given the stellar cast and the fact that Spielberg has got behind this, I would have find it regardless. Also unbeknownst to me is also how spectacular successful they are with it's audiences. Anytime you enter something as a compete outsider, all you can do is from your opinion on what's presented in front of you. The Thursday Murder Club is exactly what I expected it to be which is not particularly a good thing, but given how packed the screening was and the uproar of laughter demonstrated just how much this is one for the fans, which is perfectly fine.

Directed by Chris Columbus who brought us the first two Harry Potter films, and produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, the greatest acting thespians Britain has to offer are on display here. The story is set in Cooper's Chase, a lavish and luxurious retirement home. We follow four retirees who meet one another every Thursday to solve murder mysteries together: Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), a retired MI5 spy - the only member of the group with any real, genuine jurisdiction, Ron (Pierce Brosnan), a former union leader, Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley), a retired psychiatrist and Joyce (Celia Imrie), a former nurse who joins the group to solve their newest case. What was once a fun hobby turns into the real deal when when Tony Curran (Geoff Bell), the co-owner of the home, is killed following a dispute with the other co-owner Ian Ventham (David Tenant). The investigation then rapidly unfolds and deepens, with darker and darker revelations. 

I went in as open minded as I could possibly be, but I have to confess that I found The Thursday Murder Club rather unrewarding as a whole. Whenever a popular book is adapted into a TV show or film, the challenge then remains of who to accompany the most, fans or newcomers. In some cases we've, the two can be fairly equally balanced out to please and satisfy everyone watching, but one thing was for certain from the get go: this is one certainly for the fans which of course left me isolated. But, that is the reality when it comes to stuff like this, fans come first as you have to deliver them what they've been waiting for and what they want, it's on you if you are unaware of the source material. 

In the last few years, the murder mystery genre has seen a great revival in the form of Rian Johnson' Knives Out, which reminded us just how good and fun these can be. But Knives Out is quite a high benchmark to try and emulate, as that was a murder mystery that felt genuinely gripping, and you didn't know what was coming next or what to expect. That's what you need to give audiences, that sense of tension of not knowing what's around the corner, which is what I want from these films. You need to make the audiences feel as though they are satisfied by the time the credits rolled. I didn't get that here, as this just felt like a comfortable, safe alternative to whack on TV on a Sunday afternoon which I knew it would be. The interior does match the exterior as well, as there's lot of quintessentially British scenes of sitting round and drinking tea, accompanied by all kinds of extravagant cakes, so it knows what it's doing and is very unapologetic. 

The film had a two day, limited theatrical release, and all of the showings at my local independent sold out in no time. Not only was I able to experience this with a full crowd (always the best way), I was there with my mother who loved the books. They laughed out loud from beginning to end, and I did chuckle one a couple of occasions. I experienced first hand just how well this was working with the fans, and given how much hype and anticipation surrounded this, it has certainly delivered for them. We came out and she said she loved it, and that's all I really cared about. But I am surprised by just how much of this has been thrown at the kitchen sink for both Spielberg and Netflix to get involved, and I was not aware just how big this was or how many have been sold (ten million copies reportedly). The fact that this felt too soft for me, given all of this backing, is why I am caught surprisingly off guard. There are three more books which are also set for adaptation, and I do expect to go through all of this all over again. It is what it is, and does do what it says on the tin. I completely accept this is not for me, but I'm glad it delivered to those who matter the most. 

On Netflix now