Review of Murder on the Orient Express (2017) by Carson W — 09 Nov 2017

Agatha Christie's classic "Murder on the Orient Express" has been tackled on film multiple times before, some highly regarded, some not. So in order to set his film apart, Kenneth Branagh needed to make a film worthy of the story it is adapted from. Yet, as the almost 2 hours of run time on this particular movie passed, it settled in between all the others, with nothing showing to separate itself from the pack.

Starring Branagh as the lead role, Hercule Poirot, the world's greatest detective, an admission he provides, "Murder on the Orient Express" takes us through the classic murder-mystery tale. Starting with Poirot solving a particularly pestering case at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, we work our way onto the luxurious Orient Express train, traveling from Istanbul to Paris. Detective Poirot's skills are put to the test as their is a murder aboard the train. After an avalanche in the mountains halts the trains progress, Poirot must solve this mystery before the train sets off again, prevent the murderer from escaping. .

As Christie's novels never seemed to put much into character development and that continues with Branagh's film adaptation. It is a shame to, because the all-star cast that has been assembled could have been put to such great use. Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfieffer, Daisy Ridley, and more, used what little screen time they had to try to help the film along, delivering admirable performances, but ultimately lacking in screen time. Branagh basically had a single camera in front of his own face the whole time, but maybe that is in the same line of thinking if Poirot had made the film himself.

What stands out most among the film, lifting it into a decent one, is how impressive the movie looks. The costumes of all the characters are fantastic, putting you into the era of the story. The train is beautifully crafted, giving it the truest sense of luxury that the Orient Express deserves. These features, alongside the fantastic cinematography of the film help give the film some legs to stand on. It would have helped to pull away from Poirot's face a bit more, because the times it did were some of the most visually appealing of the film.

So, the question is, should you see this version of Christie's classic tale? Probably. The film is entertaining and provides a story in an almost forgotten genre of film-making, the murder-mystery, that needs more content. It doesn't live up to the expectations you get from seeing the cast list, but is still worth a couple hours of time.