Murder on the Orient Express is a remake of the 1974 Albert Finney classic. Surprisingly, this is a competently made remake that does a fine job of staying true to the spirit of its original but it doesn’t really add anything new to the material either.
Kenneth Branagh directs and also stars as Hercule Poirot, an eccentric Belgium detective who boards the train the Orient Express and is soon surrounded by some intriguing, mysterious individuals: Penelope Cruz as a missionary, Willem Dafoe as an Austrian professor, Judi Dench as a princess, Daisy Ridley as a governess, and Michelle Pfeiffer as another passenger on board.
Poirot also encounters a businessman by the name of Samuel Ratchett (Johnny Depp) who requests his protection due to death threats. Things go from bad to worse for both men as there’s a murder on the train and Poirot uses his sharp detective skills and eccentric nature to solve the crime. If you expected anything different, you might be someone who watches Titanic and doesn’t expect the ship to sink.
Poirot conducts his investigation by interrogating each person on board and while he’s doing that, an avalanche crosses their path and leaves them stranded. Poirot is not having a good time.
Branagh features this cast delivering effective supporting work and it’s presided by some sensational production design. He has an eye for detail more in the sets than in the actual plot which doesn’t add anything new or exciting to previous adaptations.
Fans of the original as well as Agatha Christie’s novel may spot the huge twist at the end as well as the motivations behind the characters but Branagh delivers a film that has a lot of style and a cast that makes the best of their time on screen. If only the plot was as engrossed in its execution as well its design, we would’ve had a remake that would be on part as its predecessors. As it is, it makes for a moderately entertaining diversion.
This Express has a worthy destination.
Grade: B
(Rated PG-13 for violence and thematic elements.)
