For this blockbuster overhaul, the film is directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh, who appears in the film as Poirot — alongside an all-star cast including Dame Judi Dench, Sir Derek Jacobi, Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Daisy Ridley, Willem Dafoe, Olivia Colman, Josh Gad, Leslie Odom Jr. and Lucy Boynton.
As an incredible fan of Mrs Christie, I was concerned as to how I would react. The big budget of $55,000,000 concerned me — would Branagh make Poirot too much of an action man? His lithe figure was alarming enough. However, he didn't overdo it. There was a good marriage of all that makes Monsieur Poirot so special.
Filmed in 70mm, it was a spectacle to behold. The attention to detail was profoundly mesmerising. Some overhead shots might have been slightly shorter, but everyone will have their own interpretation of the variety of shots.
The score could have been more epic, akin to the adaptions of past directors in the 1970s (Lumet, Guillermin), however the acting was second to none. It felt incredible to have a traditional procedural mystery on the big screen after so long.
People have become used to short dialogue, snappy action, thriller and horror. I find this sort of film far more engrossing.
Murder on the Orient Express
Crime, Drama, Mystery 113mins
