The murder mystery genre is perhaps one of the most rich and intriguing genres that’s ever existed and for good reason. They allow us to be absorbed by something other than our own concerns, which can then lead us satisfied and deeply curious. We’ve a sort of resurgence with the murder mystery genre in films like Knives Out, Wind River and even The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It’s a terrific genre, even if it has some duds, but with the right execution you can have something really special on your hands. A huge proponent on the murder genre comes from the work from novelist Agatha Christie, who was a pioneer on detective stories that circled around the fictional character of Hercule Poirot. Many of her novels with Hercule Poirot were adapted in feature length films and even television. Her most famous novels on the character (Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile and Appointment with Death) were all adapted into films and met with critical fame and success, for the most part. The character of Hercule Poirot has also been played by a variety of actors from Albert Finney, Orson Welles, Alfred Molina and now Kenneth Branagh.
In 2017, 20th Century Fox remade Murder on the Orient Express with Kenneth Branagh as the director and as the famous detective, with a star loaded cast that included names like Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jude Dench and many others. The movie, by all accounts, was a success considering the budget was just over $55 million and wounded up making over $350 million. The cast was all praised, especially Kenneth Branagh’s performance and even his take on Agatha Christie’s work by feeling more classy with the visuals and period piece aspects. So it was no doubt that a follow up, and not necessarily a sequel, was inevitable. Kenneth Branagh returns as Hercule Poirot as the director to readapt Agatha Christie’s novel Death on the Nile in hopes to give it his own spin and sticking true to the original work. Death on the Nile is a sharp, classy and even a bit of a disjointed murder mystery (particularly in the first act of the film), but what really makes this movie is the brilliant orchestration from director Kenneth Branagh, who manages to find the really meats of this movie towards the second act. Once we get to the murder angle, the film is locked and loaded and incredibly engaging.
Serving as a sequel and as a follow up to Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile sees Hercule Poirot on a vacation on the Nile river in Egypt. However, things make a turn for the worst when his vacation is interrupted by the death of one of its many passengers. What was supposed to be a relaxing and calm honeymoon for a certain couple, ends up being another case for the great and witty Hercule Poirot to solve.
Maybe the best aspect of Murder on the Orient Express and now Death on the Nile is Kenneth Branagh from the performance he gives and the way he envisions this story. He’s terrific in Murder but his follow up performance might trump it. He’s charming, witty, hilarious and seems to have a blast playing this character. Some might his performance to be a little bit over the top and maybe too goofy, but Branagh beautifully finds a way to make this character so likable and playful. With him returning as the director, Branagh really knows how to craft a neat murder mystery, especially with another big ensemble. The only downside with that is the first act of the movie feels a bit more off and a bit crooked. It takes a lot longer to get to the actual murder, but when the murder happens and the investigation commences the film really starts to pick and become more engaging. The movie also looks breathtaking (for the most part). Branagh has a terrific eye for capturing a more classical aesthetic with his framework by giving the movie sense of old-school fashion, even if some of the visuals look as if they needed a bit of work.
The biggest problem that Death on the Nile features is the utilization of its ensemble. Whatever grievance or criticism you have with Murder on the Orient Express, no one can deny the draw of it’s star power with the cast of actors it brought together. There’s virtually nothing wrong the ensemble that Branagh orchestrated in this film, however it doesn’t have the spark or draw that the first one had nor is it as alluring. Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer are the ones that get the most to play with, whereas the rest of the cast is adequate, they still don’t feel memorable or they might suffer from feeling like after thoughts. The other problem is really down with Gal Gadot. It’s not the performance she gives is bad it’s more that her performance is a step down from her performance in WW84, to which it looked like she was improving as a lead. Maybe the weaknesses of her as an actress are more prominent when she’s working with an ensemble, but it really just proves that Gal Gadot still needs a lot of work.
In comparison to Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile is the weaker movie. That said, this is still a solid whodunit. Despite the ensemble not having a strong impact, the performance from Branagh is terrific, his direction finds steady ground and really is having fun with this genre. If he wants to play this character, then hopefully him and the studio can work it out.
My grade for Death on the Nile: B-
Zane's take at the Cinema's 