Review of Murder on the Orient Express (2017) by Nicolas T — 21 Nov 2017

Kenneth Branagh is a one man band, as director, producer, lead actor in the latest adaptation to the Agatha Christie novel, "Murder on the Orient Express".

Hercule Poirot complexity of details is matched by the outstanding visuals and detailed wardrobe by the 13 persons trapped in the ultimate game of Clue. The train from Istanbul to Europe spares no absence of luxury and attention to detail. Mr. Branagh has the unenviable task of nailing a Belgium accent and fluently painting a masterpiece of intrigue and suspense.

The all star cast can only be a shadow to the world's greatest detective. I found it like the straight man who feeds lines to the comic to amuse the audience. Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, Josh Gad and Penelope Cruz were terrific in their roles in the mystery. They over shadowed for me the hard to listen to Ratchett played by Johnny Depp.

I wouldn't add this as a must see but watch it with eyes wide open and double that with your ears to pay attention to the details.

I think this is a shoe in for major awards in costume design, editing and cinematography. In a movie era of special effects driven series like Star Wars, DC and Marvel comic book movies, It is good to see some great acting taking place.

So put your cell phone down, pay attention to the end of the movie which was one of the best summaries by Hercule. This link to a past era when movies took our minds and eyes to adventure and characters not created by a computer generated image.

Go see this, but pay attention to the facts not the human facade. This is where you find the best clues.