The Thursday Murder Club (2025/UK) is an entertaining movie with a fascinating ensemble cast. Curiously, this crime story is set in a peace-loving retirement home in the United Kingdom. But it is anything but peaceful for the exclusive murder club of four elderly members, as they try to solve a cold murder case.
And just when everything seems to be calm in their lives, some of their acquaintances start to get murdered. Now, this murder club begin to investigate? But can they solve these complex crimes? Yes, they certainly can. Although they are senior citizens, they are as smart (if not more) than the police personnel in this show.
The Thursday Murder Club: Is It Good? Yes, It Is An Enjoyable Movie. Certainly, We Liked Watching The Amazing Bunch Of Talented British Ensemble Cast In This Engaging Whodunit Tale.
Spoiler Free Review: The Thursday Murder Club (2025/UK) Movie
The introduction
It is worth noting that the show has been produced and distributed by American companies. Still, we have decided, for our convenience, to put this Netflix movie under the United Kingdom category. It is a British whodunit tale set in a small town/village in England, with most of the cast members belonging to the UK. Moreover, this film is based on the 2020 murder mystery novel, The Thursday Murder Club, by British author Richard Osman. Not surprisingly, quite a few readers have complained that its makers have somehow squeezed the whodunit tale to fit into an almost 2-hour-long movie. And this is a difficult task, indeed.
The movie packs far too many characters and their cramped storylines
Well, we have not read the said novel, so we cannot comment on the same. However, its makers could have considered the long form of storytelling, like a series, to narrate the detailed whodunit murder mystery. Perhaps that would have been a better option. However, let us not get into that endless debate.
Honestly, we have to admit that we loved the four lead characters, Elizabeth Best (Helen Mirren), Ron Ritchie (Pierce Brosnan), Ibrahim Arif (Ben Kingsley) and Celia Imrie (Joyce), in this movie. The back stories of Elizabeth Best seemed to be most intriguing. She is the feisty leader of the club, who is actively assisted by her friends – Ron, Ibrahim and Celia. As they race against time to save their retirement home and solve the complicated murder cases. Besides these 4 smart members of the Club, DCI Chris Hudson (Daniel Mays) plays the clueless police official; they all add the necessary British humour ingredient to this crime drama.
We recently reviewed a series, titled Mobland, wherein two actors, Pierce Brosnan and Geoff Bell, played the two dangerous patriarchs of the competing mob families. In addition, the actress Helen Mirren portrayed the manipulative and deadly wife of the mob boss, Harrigan (Pierce Brosnan), perfectly.
In this movie, both Helen and Pierce play friendlier characters, which are 360 degrees different from those of MobLand. It is wonderful to watch them completely transform, as per the needs of their respective characters.
Director Chris Columbus brings together a fine bunch of amiable oldies
The director Chris Columbus has given us some memorable movies in the past, namely, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Mrs. Doubtfire, Stepmom and a couple of Harry Potter films. Now, the 66-year-old director has assembled a hugely talented ensemble cast*, and almost all of them have an impressive body of work.
Some of the Cast* members:- Paul Freeman (82 years old), Ben Kingsley (81 years old), Helen Mirren (80 years old), Jonathan Pryce (78 years old), Celia Imrie (73 years old), Pierce Brosnan (72 years old), Richard E. Grant (68 years old), Geoff Bell (62 years old), David Tennant (54 years old), etc. Please note, in the mentioned star cast, there are 2 Oscar winners: Helen Mirren and Ben Kingsley; and 2 Oscar nominees: Richard E. Grant and Jonathan Pryce. And, of course, in this list, there are other award winners too.
Although some of them got limited screen time, most of them did play their parts well. Among the younger lot, we also liked the performances of Tom Ellis (Jason Richie), Naomi Ackie (Donna de Freitas), Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Bogdan), etc. In short, we enjoyed the performances of each one of them in this delightful film.
The conclusion
So, it was fun to watch them solve all the murder (of course, RIP and all that) cases in their unique team way. And in the end, the club of four did manage to solve all the murder cases credibly, including the cold case from the distant past. Certainly, there are more cases to come.
So far, in this book series, the author Richard Osman has written these five novels, one of which could be taken up as a sequel in the future.
1. The Thursday Murder Club (2020) - already filmed,
2. The Man Who Died Twice (2021),
3. The Bullet That Missed (2022),
4. The Last Devil to Die (2023), and
5. The Impossible Fortune (2025).
So, it seems we might get its sequel. Fingers crossed.
FM Rating
| FM Rating of The Thursday Murder Club | 3.40/5 |
The Poster
Key Details
| Genre | Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Thriller |
| Language | English (UK) |
| Duration | 1 Hour 58 Minutes |
| Based on | Richard Osman’s novel “The Thursday Murder Club” |
| Screenwriters | Katy Brand & Suzanne Heathcote |
| Director | Chris Columbus |
| Music Composer | Thomas Newman |
| Cinematographer | Don Burgess |
| Editor | Dan Zimmerman |
| Main Cast | Helen Mirren (Elizabeth), Pierce Brosnan (Ron), Ben Kingsley (Ibrahim), Celia Imrie (Joyce), Naomi Ackie (Donna de Freitas), Daniel Mays (DCI Chris Hudson), Jonathan Pryce (Stephen), David Tennant (Ian Ventham), Geoff Bell (Tony Curran), Tom Ellis (Jason), Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Bogdan), Ingrid Oliver (Joanna), Richard E. Grant (Bobby Tanner), Joseph Marcell (Father Mackie), Paul Freeman (John), etc. |
| Production Co. | Netflix, Amblin Entertainment |
| Distributor | Netflix |
Official – Trailer & Synopsis
Based on Richard Osman's novel of the same name, The Thursday Murder Club follows four irrepressible retirees -- Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley) and Joyce (Celia Imrie) -- who spend their time solving cold case murders for fun. When an unexplained death occurs on their own doorstep, their casual sleuthing takes a thrilling turn as they find themselves with a real whodunit on their hands.
Also, check out the YouTube Video – British Slang, Acting Tricks & Afternoon Tea! The Thursday Murder Club Cast Interview | BAFTA.
The Poster and the Featured Image of The Thursday Murder Club (2025/UK) Movie are credited to Netflix.
