One of the worst films ever made by a reputable and talented director/actor!

Rating: 1/10 (13 July 2019)

So bad that it takes your breath away.
Appallingly awful; it actually led me to revisit the David Suchet version made for British television, and upgrade my previously poor opinion of that strangely conceived version of Agatha Christie's best book.
Of course, neither is a match for the extraordinary 1974 Sidney Lumet film, with its extraordinary cast and transcendent Richard Rodney Bennett score--despite the eccentric (but ultimately quite serviceable) performance of Alfred Finney as Poirot. But the Suchet version is better than this monstrosity.
The less said about Branagh the actor's crazy rendition of the detective the better...other than to wonder how Branagh the director let him get away with it (or those mustaches!).
Poor KB has not been himself since the break with Emma Thompson. Almost all of his excellent films were made before that divorce. Since then he has become progressively more self-indulgent and commercialized. If not his muse (or perhaps even a co-creator), she certainly seemed to supply some kind of governor, which is now sorely missed. Her career has moved on from strength to strength; his seems to be going down the crapper.