Hercules Branaugh

Rating: 3/10 (6 July 2019)

This film raises the question "Should movie versions of books be true to the story and characters." The core problem is books are long, and films are short. So how do you pick what to film? Given that you have to miss most of book out, does that mean you should add "new parts" in lieu of the redacted? I am tempted to think than Kenneth Branagh thinks so. In his version of MOTOE he makes some unique story changes to a Classic tale. The standard justification for this from film makers is that this adds to the "narrative drive" when moving from book to film. However, to have Poirot fight like Jackie Chan is so absurdly James Bond-like I wonder what on earth Branagh was thinking! This goes against the very core of the famous Poirot character and his method. (He can solve a crime by simply sitting in office and thinking about all the evidence. Though it is important to note that Christie was quite inconsistent with her characters - Poirot did indeed look for and find "clues". Things he often made fun of Hastings for always wanting.)
How does this adaptation compare to others of this well know detective novel? It is a book I know very well. I have not seen the 1974 version for many years, but did enjoy it very much. The BBC radio version is much better than David Suchet version for TV as it is truer to the novel. The Alfred Molina modernization is interesting attempt to deal with the "problem of the remake", but is unwatchable. All these versions highlight the problem of the extreme edit that is required for condensing a 350 page novel into 90-120 mins giving rise to the idea that bad novels can make good films, but great novels will result in bad films.
Examples of great book and film: Pride and Prejudice (1940).
A room with view.
Ivanhoe (1952).
Ipcress File
The Day Of The Jackal (1973)
Where Eagles Dare.
Chinatown (1974)
The Bourne Identity (2002).
The French Connection (1971).
The Odessa File (1974).
Better films?
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
My Fair Lady (1964)