Promising start, but sizzles out during the middle part. Great actors take part in this story, but the director somehow fails in making those characters come alive

Rating: 4/10 (17 February 2019)

Great story. Great actors. What could go wrong? I read the average rating on Imdb and I had difficulty believing that a great story with such a great cast (Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeifer, Judi Dench) could make for a boring movie, but that's what it unfortunately turned out to be: average and boring.
13 passengers on a train. One passenger gets murdered. Who is the mastermind behind this attack? I blame director/actor Kenneth Brannagh for the bland portrayal of this potentially terrific story. Somehow the characters dont really come alive. Somehow the suspense is lacking. It all looks very pretty, with beautiful photography, but the movie lacks in punch.
I considered if it perhaps could be suspenseful enough for children and families to be watched, but the story is too complicated (and boring) to keep the attention of the youth.
I checked out the original 1974 movie again as well, although those 1974 characters are quite sparkling the speed of that 1974 story is one of a turtle as well. That 1974 version has become rather dated in many ways. I have never given this advice before on Imdb, but you could maybe better just read the Agatha Christie book, instead of watching this boring, complicated movie.