Overall very well done rendition

Rating: 8/10 (24 January 2020)

In this new rendition of Agatha Christie's 1932 murder mystery, Murder On the Orient Express, director Kenneth Branagh stars as Hercule Poirot; the world rebound Belgian inspector. In this all-star movie we see actors such as Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench and Willem Defoe. However, many of them were given not much more than cameos as Branagh perfects his own part.
During a lavish trip on the Orient Express, famous inspector Hercule Poirot expects a relaxing journey instead has to race against time to find a murderer. As an avalanche blocks the Orient Express, Poirot uses this to his advantage to find the killer. Not only is everyone on the train a suspect, we soon come to learn that many of them have a strange connection to the Armstrong case and a motive of revenge for the fallen billionaire.
There have been many depictions of not only Agatha Christie's Murder On the Orient Express but also the famous inspector Hercule Poirot. Hercule Poirot is described as a very confident man, who is very attentive to details, as said "I can only see the world as it should be. And when it is not, the imperfection stands out like the nose in the middle of a face. It makes most of life unbearable. But, it is useful in the detection of crime". In this version, I feel that Kenneth Branagh played Poirot exquisitely, but a tad bit overdramatized at times. As for the rest of the all star cast, we see Josh Gad portraying Hector MacQueen, the private secretary to Ratchett, he shows more of a range that we normally don't get to see from him. As always Michelle Pfeiffer, was amusing and entertaining as she played the rich chatty husband finder Caroline Hubbard. Other actors such as Willem Defoe and Judi Dench, though perfected their roles as a German professor Gerhard Hardman and the Russian Princess Dragomiroff, were given not much more than underwritten cameos. I feel that the screen time could have been better divided betwixt actors.
The overall design of set, costumes and makeup almost perfectly match the time period and create the cozy but yet mysterious atmosphere. The wardrobe matches the time period as well as the characters themselves. The women wore long silhouettes that go just above the ankles, which were a new trend in the 1930s, as well as pantsuits and pinned up hair. Men wore suits which was proper in Europe, very few wore leisure wear as it was not the custom in this time period. For example, Inspector Poirot's attire matches his OCD personality, he wears a clean cut suit, everything is is place including his facial hair. The setting of the train quite accurately represents the furnishings of those in the 1930s, a very lavish a luxurious club car represents the feel that the Orient Express is trying to convey.
If you have ever read or seen Agatha Christie's Murder On the Orient Express you know the whole whodunit mystery. Branagh gives us this new version with snip its of humor sprinkled in, its dazzling, exciting and overall a must watch.
Branagh, Kenneth, director. Murder on the Orient Express. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2018.