Kenneth Branagh’s take on the Agatha Christie classic is decent at best, albeit its sporadic grandiose moments.
20th Century Studios
Actors: Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Kenneth Branagh, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, Letitia Wright
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Premise: Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot’s Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple’s idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short. (20th Century Studios)
Running Time: 127 minutes
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Why You Should See It:
Breathtaking visuals and the magic of great actors coming together are the major strong points of this Agatha Christie adaptation, which sees filmmaker Kenneth Branagh both take the directorial job and on one of the major characters.
Death On the Nile comes more than four years after Branagh launched his crime series via Murder on the Orient Express in 2017. He finds his visionary mind at work again in this feature, but a masterpiece remains an elusive fruit for his labor. That said, what he manages to pull off isn’t completely bereft of stellar grandiosity, as there are sporadic beauties that compensate for where the film lacks.
The film follows famed detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) as he takes a vacation in Egypt, only to find himself entangled in a curious and vicious murder case. Aboard the ultra-expensive cruise ship, SS Karnak, Poirot stumbles a familiar and new faces alike. He encounters his good friend, Bouc (Tom Bateman) who later on introduces him to the mysterious couple Linette Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) and Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer), who is being followed by the jealous Jacqueline Bellefort (Emma Mackey).
Branagh tried to stage an exquisite demonstration of thrill and intensity–via sheer visuals and plot complexity.
It’s hard to say he failed at such an attempt, but it’s not easy to say he succeeded, either. Mystery of this kind naturally thrives at how events unfold with heated momentum without losing the element of surprise, and here, Branagh confronts more trouble at the latter.
Compared to its original, the 1978 film is inevitable. Though, it is unnecessary. The one that can only potentially show how subordinate this film can be, in terms of faithfulness and ingenuity, is its efforts to provide a sort of origin story ‘feels’ at least for Poirot’s character. Of course, those who follow Poirot’s adventures across the many mysteries of Agatha Christie will find either surprise or disappointment.
5 – Excellent
4 – Very Goood
3 – Good
2 -Tolerable
1 – Terrible
Death on the Nile is now showing in cinemas nationwide. Watch the official full trailer from 20th Century Fox below:
