The Thursday Murder Club is so-called because the group of pensioners who live at Coopers Chase care home meet on a… ah, you’re ahead of me.
With some being married, some divorced, and some widowed, they concentrate on cold cases, in particular, one from May 11th 1973, when a young woman fell out of her window, with her boyfriend as a suspect.
Evil landlord David needs tenants for his forthcoming flats (David… tenants… David Tennant… anyway), as Ian Ventham, but he plans to do this by taking over the cemetery. Hasn’t he seen Poltergeist?!
Tony Curran (Geoff Bell – King And Conqueror) is his business partner but it against the deal, as it would also affect Coopers Chase, and he has a relative there.
But before you can pretend to be Taggart and say in a strong Scots accent, “There’s been a MUH-DUH!”… there’s… erm… been a murder.
Plus, there’s a moment where (and obviously, I won’t say who) a character drops dead in front of everyone. Someone checks to see if they’re breathing and then announces, “They’re dead!”
Erm… you’d still call for an ambulance and should proceed with CPR, while the 999 agent guides you through it. Here, this reminds me of when Tiffany fell back on the pavement and smacked her head at almost midnight, in Eastenders. Instead of calling an ambulance or help her out, everyone just stands around and waits and watches!
As an aside, there’s a baffling moment when Elizabeth (Helen Mirren – recently seen in Mobland, alongside Pierce Brosnan) and Joyce (Celia Imrie – Highlander) go to the police station to speak to PC Donna de Freitas (Naomi Ackie – Mickey 17), who they’ve befriended following an early visit on safety in the care home, but despite it being a basic conversation, why is it being recorded as if it’s an interview where someone’s been charged for a crime?
I saw a comment on the trailer from someone who said this should’ve been a series rather than a film, but even at nearly two hours, it goes on way too long. The characters often feel very cardboard cut-out, and Tennant’s angry landlord is a cliché.
It feels like they’ve spent more time thinking about the well-known cast, rather than the content. For example, Elizabeth is married to Stephen, played by Jonathan Pryce, who last tussled with Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies, when the latter disembowelled the former; and it’s always welcome to see Paul Freeman from Raiders Of The Lost Ark, as John, another resident.
However, Celia’s daughter, Joanna, is played by Ingrid Oliver. Some might know her as one half of the awful comedy duo Watson & Oliver (with Lorna Watson), some will know her as Natalie from Peep Show, some as Osgood in 2013 episodes of Doctor Who, but Richard Osman will know her best as Mrs Richard Osman.
Overall, though – as is quipped by one of the characters – “I feel like we’re in one of those Sunday night dramas”, and that’s exactly how this comes across. The Thursday Murder Club is not terrible, but it’s also not amazing, it’s just… there.
I can’t see why this is so revered when it’s largely predictable and pedestrian. Maybe because Richard Osman is a big name in TV, and so the herd mentality convinces the rest who follow without thinking.
NOTE: There are NO mid- or post-credits scenes.
The Thursday Murder Club is on Netflix from tomorrow, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Check out the trailer below:
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 118 minutes
Release date: August 28th 2025
Studio: Netflix
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Score: 5/10
Director: Chris Columbus
Producers: Chris Columbus, Jennifer Todd
Screenplay: Katy Brand, Suzanne Heathcote
Novel: Richard Osman
Music: Thomas Newman
Cast:
Elizabeth: Helen Mirren
Ron: Pierce Brosnan
Ibrahim: Ben Kingsley
Joyce: Celia Imrie
PC Donna de Freitas: Naomi Ackie
DCI Chris Hudson: Daniel Mays
Bogdan: Henry Lloyd-Hughes
Jason: Tom Ellis
Stephen: Jonathan Pryce
Ian Ventham: David Tennant
Tony Curran: Geoff Bell
John: Paul Freeman
Bobby Tanner: Richard E Grant
Joanna: Ingrid Oliver
Father Mackie: Joseph Marcell
Bernard: Martin Bishop
Aunt Maud: Ruth Sheen
Penny: Susan Kirkby
Desk Sergeant Faisal: Shane David Joseph
Peter Mercer: Will Stevens
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.