Murder on the Orient Express – Movie Review
Murder on the Orient Express – PG-13
Release Date: Fri 10 Nov 2017
The title of Agatha Christie’s most famous novel appears after only two production logos. No other opening credits are shown before we are thrust into 1930’s Jerusalem to meet our hero fussing about eggs and solving a mystery.
Kenneth Branagh directs and stars as Hercule Poirot, Christie’s Belgian detective with a fastidious (and in this version, enormous) moustache. The opening scenes before the train departs give us the briefest glimpse of Branagh’s take on Poirot’s idiosyncrasies. The dramatic action of the film is very fast-paced and it is typically Poirot himself who points out his own personality.
Still, without David Suchet’s definitive Poirot in tow, the movie manages to successfully tell the story and shows the Orient Express itself in breathtaking detail. Fans of the story are likely to enjoy this interpretation. Newcomers will be swept up as well, just don’t expect to figure out any twists and turns ahead of time.
Murder on the Orient Express is a capable adaptation that feels right at home on a 2017 movie screen. It’s the kind of movie you can take your kids and parents to and everyone will enjoy.
Amber, Matthew, Aaron and I saw it in the theater and had a discussion in the car:
