Review of Death on the Nile (2022) by Jluis_001 — 13 Feb 2022

Let's start with something basic and that I need to get off my chest: Gal Gadot can't act. There it is. I said it.

Fortunately 60 minutes into the film her character is taken out of the play, so all the time left in the film after that is strengthened by her absence.

Now speaking of the film in general, the experience itself isn't bad, however it is one that feels incredibly ordinary.

Kenneth Branagh is apparently having fun because you can tell that he is as passionate about this project as he was about Murder on the Orient Express.

And just like that film, the cast here despite not being as lavish as the one of the previous film, it's a good cast. And it's clearly one of the main strengths of this film. Again excluding Gal Gadot of course.

The tone, the style, the mise-en-scene. Everything feels in place, and yet there's no real emotion.

The whole thing in spite of its quality has a routine weight that doesn't help the story at all. An empty atmosphere that lacks complexity.

I understand that not all films should be memorable. Many should just be about having a good time, and Death on the Nile has that, but I think they should also avoid feeling disposable.

The intricacy of the plot depends on how interested you are in the mystery, because this one isn't very good at keeping the intrigue going, and ultimately at that point, that closure ceases to matter, after all, the most important conclusion is for Poirot's character. The rest becomes almost expendable.

Death on the Nile is a basic, average, functional film. Nothing mediocre, just plainly inconsequential.