Not as Bad as You Think

Rating: 8/10 (11 June 2018)

SUMMARY: If this film had an awesome script, it would have earned more than it did (think Jumanji, Thor 3 numbers) . It's well-made and entertaining at the most. Poirot in 2017 is struggling to find himself and does it at the suspects' expense.
DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM IF:
1. You expect an on-point remake of the book. - You have the 1974 remake for that. Or for an on-point image of Poirot or if your distracted by his cat-like of a mustache, check out David Suchet. That guy basically lived Poirot.
Murder on the Orient Express is a plot-driven book so all the characters played their part in the big picture of the crime. Orient Express 2017 made a futile attempt to know more about the characters and Poirot, which given the time allotted would have been impossible anyways. So the audience ends up with bits and pieces of half-baked people and an even more puzzling detective with his own inner turmoil. Again, this is not a wrong perspective but a good script would have tied everything together.
Several characters were miscast and even if some of the characters had massive potential to be liked, the script does not expand on them through their interrogation scenes or their storyline. This, in my opinion, is where the film failed.
Strangely enough, while some of them I felt were miscast, the cast had chemistry.
2. You don't like vague dialogues - The big weakness of the film is the screenplay. I haven't watched the deleted scenes yet but the script was the let down. It had a good cast but did not maximize it. Orient Express is a beautiful film and directed wonderfully but there were times when it was a pain to listen to because of the cringe-worthy exchange between characters. It just proves that a film comes down to script, casting and budget regardless of storytelling. The debunk screenplay is pretty much the main reference on why everything went wrong.
3. If you want to see a decent amount of screen time for a character who is not Poirot - The film is more about who Poirot is while solving the Murder on the Orient Express so it's pretty pointless to ask for a monologue for, say, Olivia Colman's character.
4. You have an irrational dislike for Kenneth Branagh - No, it's not an ego trip of a film. He happens to direct and star in it--if he were only the star, I'd figure you would be less annoyed. If you don't like him then there's nothing one can do. Don't watch. There are several movies on the plane or more DVDs to choose from. I am amazed to read paragraphs dissing him. That's not an opinion. You don't like him or his films, that's all. It's not The Human Centipede or a Lars Von Triers movie and even they seemed to had more support than him.
DO WATCH THE FILM:
1. If you want to be entertained - I found the film funny sometimes because of motherhood statements that Poirot or some of the characters say, which I am still figuring out why they say it. Having said that, DON'T ANALYZE. Branagh as a director gives perspective to those who have not seen, read or hear the book so in the case of enjoyment, he succeeds (for me, at least). Some of the best scenes are those where Poirot interrogates the suspects as well as when the cast are in groups together. The chemistry between most of the actors (except Johnny Depp) is great,
2. Amazing production value - Production and cinematography is class. Again, if this film had a good script, it would have been up for awards with a more outstanding box office draw.