' A beautifully detailed film, but a slightly disappointing cast'
Fox Rating 3/5
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Year: 2017
Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Johnny Depp, Judi Dench
Genre: Mystery, suspense
The anticipation of a beautifully scenic train journey, a character led murder mystery and the eccentric Detective Hercule Poirot is what had me on the edge of my seat awaiting the 2017 film release of Murder on the Orient Express.
Am I disappointed?
Slightly...
The film itself was beautiful in it's detail, the silver service, the dialect and the ambience did fill me with that warm excitable feeling of romance. For this reason I found the film an absolute pleasure to watch. I enjoyed the characters being introduced in their mysterious ways, but they were left in the shadows due to the fabulous acting of Sir Kenneth Branagh ( Hercule Poirot)
At first I was a little dumbstruck by the size of his (Keep it clean...) mustache. The said facial hair spread a little too much across his face for my taste, but Branagh absolutely smashed the tash !
It totally worked. His acting and his mustache was superb! Playing the oddball detective who was strangely obsessed with sizing his boiled eggs (Not a pun I promise) really brought the best of Branagh.
But there was a downside. I was really looking forward to seeing the great cast of highly rated actors, bring more to the show, and this is where my disappointment started.
I cannot work out as to whether the acting from stars such as Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Penelope Cruz was unusually bland, or if it was diluted by the excellent acting of Branagh.
The Plot
Poirot is in Istanbul after his last detective mission finished. He decides to take a trip on the Orient Express to continue his resting period and is disgruntled when the train gets caught up in an avalanche and a murder takes place. His moral duty to gain a balance of justice, made him yet again the lead detective in the case.
Stuck in an avalanche overnight with an army of suspects, Poirot sets his task on finding the killer.
The ending was wrapped up well and the introduction was great, but the characters I felt could have had a little more about them to create the mystery through the middle of the film.
