Was justice served?

Rating: 5/10 (10 March 2018)

Kenneth Branagh stars and directed this massive production of Murder On The
Orient Express replete with a lot preliminary back stories. But for the most
part once we get down to it it's the same old Agatha Christie tale.
Having seen the 1973 film that starred Albert Finney as the world famous Belgian
sleuth and the smaller BBC production that David Suchet did, this runs a distinct
third. You can design wondrful period sets to tell the story in, but this version
is overwhelmed by the opulence. It's still an intimate story told within the
confines of a railroad car.
I still remember Albert Finney in the 1973 film giving the solution of the murder of Ratchett telling the other passengers he knows full well what happened. He sure didn't agonize as Branagh does here.
A lot of familiar folks like Derek Jacobi, Michelle Pheiffer, Judy Dench etc.
fill out the roles of the passengers in the sleeping car who all have a connection of sorts. Johnny Depp is the American gangster victim and he's
quite serious in the part, no Captain Jack Sparrow scenery chewing.
And throughout the entire film I was waiting for the other members of the
barbershop chorus to join Kenneth Branagh in a snappy chorus of Sweet
Adeline. Ken, that walrus mustache was too much.