A fascinating transposition

Rating: 7/10 (5 January 2018)

Taken from the homonyms novel of the world-famous writer Agatha Christie, this "Murder on the Orient Express" is presented as an alternative film version to that of 1974.
What most attracts the viewer is surely the cast that makes use of many big names such as Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Penélope Cruz, Josh Gad, Michelle Pfeiffer, Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench, Willem Defoe and Kenneth Branagh, who also directs the film.
Being a choral film, however, none of the roles allows us to offer memorable performances, given the limited amount of time available for each character, even if all manage to provide more than discrete performances, except for Branagh who, being the protagonist, naturally has more space and, also for this reason, he is distinguished from other interpreters and gives the public a perfect transposition of the famous inspector that is well interpreted and that, thanks to its characterization, mostly aesthetic (the bizarre and huge mustache), manages to be immediately recognized by viewers who have already read the famous book, because he is simply the same, or at least I could not ask for a better transposition for this character.
What instead differentiates this film particularly from the book from which it is taken, is the narrative structure: if the book is linear (the various interrogations are carried out one after the other) and precise, especially in the details, the film is much more dynamic, fast and less linear; this decreases the possibility for the spectator to be able to process the various clues but allows the film to be much more entertaining, light and if we also want fun and engaging; a type of narration that lends itself much more to the big screen than to the pages of a book and, for this reason, I consider a right choice that of Branagh to make everything more movement, thanks for the most part to a dynamic editing, a presentation of the characters more hurry but functional and a pressing and immersive soundtrack, entrusted to the two-time Oscar nominee, Patrick Doyle, who had previously worked with the aforementioned.
As for the direction is also very dynamic, Kenneth Branagh uses, in fact, often the use of dollys to be able to achieve many long and precise machine movements, moreover many of the shots are studied in detail and, if on a hand, this scrupulous search for the perfect film gives an excellent aesthetic appearance, on the other it hurts a bit the fluidity of the film: in some moments I have had more time to notice the various virtuosities of the director than to pay attention to the story, precisely because in some cases distracted me. Despite I liked them (the virtuosities) some have me just surprised and pleased, I would have preferred a little 'more naturalness, in some moments, by the director without having to always have to look for the perfect framing or the perfect camera movement.
For the rest I was very impressed by the cinematography that gives the film a modern look without betraying the historical period in which it takes place.
In general I found it a great transposition and a good entertainment film that can satisfy various types of public without disappointing any.
Now I just have to see the 1974 film and wait for the future sequel of this version.