Atmospheric, Superbly Acted, and Highly Emotional

Rating: 10/10 (19 November 2017)

This is Poirot as I have never seen him before. The whole film feels fresh and helps introduce new generations to a classic tale of Christie twists.
The winter atmosphere makes one wish to cuddle up by a fireplace and sip hot tea. All the shots either give a sense of the isolated cold winter outside or the tense claustrophobia inside the train cabin.
Each of the actors give quite good performances. For Branagh, David Suchet's Poirot is a hard act to follow not to mention an Oscar-nominated turn by Albert Finney. However, he makes the Belgian detective charming, witty, likable, and portrays all the brilliance the character has to offer. Some of the other stand outs include an amazingly dramatic Josh Gad, Michelle Pfeiffer is sexy and suspicious, Johnny Depp oozes all the vile traits for a putrescent man, and Daisy Ridley plays a strong-willed and delightful character perfectly.
This version goes in a not before seen direction by adding heart and emotion into not only the suspects, but even the detective himself. This is rarely seen in other incarnations, but Branagh gives chills of emotions while others leave you in tears by the charged ending.
This is a wonderful blend of classical and modern film that Branagh has gotten so good at over the years with his Shakespeare adaptations. I will be happy to revisit this version of an old mystery again and again.