Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley play retirees-turned-amateur sleuths in the Netflix movie “The Thursday Murder Club,” directed by Chris Columbus (“Mrs. Doubtfire,” among many others). The group resides in a luxury retirement community at a sprawling country estate called Coopers Chase, where they meet each week in the jigsaw puzzle room to piece together a different sort of puzzle: Real crime in the form of cold-case files. But their most recent obsession is put on the back burner when they learn plans are afoot that could jeopardize their long-term living accommodations. Then a dead body turns up. Then another. The trio, plus a new resident who joins their little brigade, must work to uncover whodunit.

I’m forever saying that most streaming shows shoulda been a movie, and here’s a movie that really could have been a series. Irony! The animated logo for Amblin Entertainment that precedes it, though, is a reminder of a time when Hollywood made films like this for theatrical release, instead of sending them straight to streaming. Well, you can’t have everything.

The members of the Thursday Murder Club were once a foursome that included a former police officer who took a stack of unsolved cases with her on her way out the door so many years back. Enlisting the help of her friends at Coopers Chase, they dubbed themselves the Thursday Murder Club, before the retired copper fell into a coma. That’s the backstory parceled out over the course of the movie. The three remaining members are eclectic enough to continue on without their founder. Mirren plays a former spy named Elizabeth, and she’s the one in charge, both assertive and organized. Kingsley and Brosnan have smaller roles as Ibrahim and Ron. The former is the nerdier, more officious type in his bow tie and sport coat, the latter more rakish, a one-time rabble-rouser who’s just happy to have something interesting to do.

I’m not sure this type of project benefits from a starry cast, but that’s not to say it hasn’t worked in the past. Plenty of older adaptations of a writer like Agatha Christie are a murderer’s row (sorry) of big-name talent and the celebrity faces don’t detract from anything. I know most audiences have felt the same about the more recent “Knives Out” franchise. But I’m generally of the mind that this is a genre where character actors can thrive in lead roles in ways their more famous peers can not, because frankly they’re more likely to create a distinctive character. In this case, the central bold-face names are doing a perfectly fine job — and, importantly, they find the right tone — but these don’t feel like performances they’re disappearing into.

Joyce (Celia Imrie) is the newest resident. She’s somewhat fluttery and dresses like a stereotypical granny with her hair in a bun. But when Elizabeth spots her, the former narrows her eyes and deduces that Joyce has a medical background as a nurse and decides that knowledge will come in handy, so she invites her to join the club. The slow grin of excitement that spreads across Joyce’s face says it all.

They are distracted from their latest cold case when they learn the co-owners of Coopers Chase are fighting over the future of the property. One wants to bulldoze it to build luxury flats (played by a wonderfully obnoxious David Tennant). The other wants to keep things as they are. Eventually, they both turn up dead. Murdered. The Thursday Murder Club ropes in an eager young police constable as their woman on the inside and they’re off to the races.

The movie is adapted from Richard Osman’s 2020 novel of the same name and while certain trims and economies are expected, the screenplay from Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote doesn’t really develop the four aging investigators so much as establish their general vibe and hope that’s enough. It’s not. Doesn’t mean the film isn’t enjoyable. But Mirren’s story is the only one with a sense of depth or complexity, and it’s not about the character herself, but her husband with dementia (played by Jonathan Pryce). Even so, he has enough moments of lucidity that she’s able to be a frequently absent caregiver, venturing out to gather clues. There’s a wonderfully meta joke when she dresses in a disguise with a look that brings to mind Queen Elizabeth — tweed skirt, glass, handkerchief tied around her head — that is a winking reference to Mirren’s performance in the 2006 biopic “The Queen.”

“Thursday Murder Club” is an idealized portrayal of retirement that few will actually experience, awash in comfort and surrounded by friends and notably absent any of the ailments that usually come with aging (Elizabeth’s husband excepting). But if the movie feels slight, especially on character development or even some sharp jokes, it delivers on breeziness, charm and coziness. With this genre, that’s ultimately what matters.

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'THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB'

3 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for violent content/bloody images, strong language and some sexual references)

Running time: 1:58

How to watch: Netflix

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