I love a good mystery novel/film and over the past year, I read a lot of Agatha Christie's novels. Murder on the Orient Express, with its mindblowing ending, was one of my favourites which is why I was very excited about Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express mainly because of its stellar cast. I eventually skipped it because of the not-so-pleasing reviews. I finally decided to give it a chance and it isn't that bad. It isn't that good either though.
The storyline, everybody knows it. The famous detective Hercules Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is vacationing in Istanbul and soon finds himself on the Orient Express on a trip to Calais, sharing the train with an eclectic assortment of travellers. Of course, a murder is committed and, as the train gets stopped by an avalanche and the passengers find themselves trapped in the train, Poirot must solve the crime before the train starts working again.
With the plot comes the first problem. It is convoluted, messy and sluggish. Some key plot points are left out and we are never given any clue to find out on our own who the murderer is, as the novel did (I haven't seen Sidney Lumet's 1974 film so I can't make the comparison). To that, add the fact that Kenneth Branagh's director completely failed to build and deliver tension and suspense. In spite of that and the fact that I already knew who the murderer was, the film was surprisingly gripping and it managed to hold my attention for most of its running time.
The characters are also quite a mess. Their introduction is such a mess, I doubt anyone who hasn't either read the novel or seen one of the many adaptations could understand who they were. It confused me, for heaven's sake! Also, the characterization and development are basically non-existent.
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20th Century Fox |
Murder on the Orient Express also has many action sequences that are dull and tedious, they look absolutely ridiculous and really had nothing to the story or film. Also, Poirot engaging in action sequences? I don't think I've ever seen something so out-of-character. What's even more annoying is that they add absolutely anything, not even a little excitement.
The acting, on the other hand, is decent, if not good. While he did a mediocre to say the least job directing the film, Kenneth Branagh actually did a good job portraying the famous detective. I was a bit worried, to be honest, because I'm used to David Suchet's great Poirot so much, but Branagh really did well. He captures the character's gestures and expressions very well. And the accent is pretty good too (I have a French cousin, I know what I'm talking about). Johnny Depp does a decent job as Ratchett. There's still a little resemblance, but this time around he's not playing the drunk pirate. And Michelle Pfeiffer gives a very captivating performance.
The cinematography is also quite beautiful --not Oscar beautiful though -- and so are costumes and designs. And the makeup isn't bad.
