Let me take you back to 2017 when this critic had just finished Agatha Christie’s 1934 Murder on the Orient Express in preparation for the upcoming film by Kenneth Branagh. I loved the short, yet suspenseful novel and all the twists and turns it took and fully expected a similar joy when watching the star-studded film. Ultimately, the film fell flat and became vastly forgettable due to its weird pacing, uninteresting characters, and lack of creativity. I blamed my harsh criticism on myself, for reading the film’s source material, so for Death on the Nile, I went in blind. Although the primary mystery was enjoyable to uncover, the film still suffered the same faults as its predecessor and has become a film I will most certainly forget.
The film sees Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) attempt to solve a murder on the Nile before it’s too late. Before I cover why this film, for me, fell harder than Armie Hammer’s career, let me give some rightfully deserved praise to Branagh and his constantly engaging portrayal of the protagonist. Like Murder on the Orient Express, Branagh steals the show, with his jovial representation and his ability to quickly create tension with his clear superiority among the characters. He is truly a man worthy of donning that iconic, yet slightly ridiculous moustache. Speaking of the moustache, it gets a ten-minute origin story, in World War 1, at the beginning of the film. I’m not mad or even disappointed, just confused.
The physical sets made for this film and the costume design throughout were enjoyable, but the settings themselves were a little off-putting due to the vast and clear use of VFX. It ruins any realism and forces the audience to become dissociated with the plot as a result. Instead of focusing on the film’s stronger elements, every ten minutes distracting CGI creatures pop up some of which should only belong in a dodgy B-movie.
You know someone’s performance is not great when their work in St. Trinian’s was better than their acting in a 90-million-dollar film. Russel Brand is a clear weak point in this film. His wooden acting removes any emotional suspense and instead forces the audience to be humoured by his delivery. Additionally, the rest of the cast does not really have an opportunity to prove themselves as the film rushes through their confessions and character development. The victims being Jennifer Saunders, who I forgot was in this film, and Gal Gadot. Death on the Nilecopies its predecessor’s worst quality – crumbling under the weight of its cast, and ending up riddled with wasted potential as a result. You can watch this film once for an enjoyable performance by Branagh and an interesting Agatha Christie mystery, but I doubt you’d need to watch this any more than once.
2/5
Image Credit: TheMovieDB