Never saw the first one but while watching this with my whole family during Christmas, it kept us and even our teen kids entertained. We didn't watch too critically to make sure if everything makes sense. It's not that type of film. The story's twist and turning plot are intriguing enough to make us want to watch all the way until the end to see who done it. I gotta say, without watching the first movie, the beginning of this one makes me feel like I missed out on something. But later on, after you meet all the characters, it wasn't a problem, but the complicated relationships between all the characters are a bit confusing.