A pleasing time-waster.

Rating: 6/10 (11 November 2017)

Travelling the globe solving case after case, famous detective Hercule Poirot needs a break. A three-day trip from Istanbul to Paris aboard the luxurious Orient Express is the perfect chance to relax until one of the passengers is viciously murdered. Adapted from Agatha Christie's 1934 novel, the source of no less than four adaptations through visual mediums already, director Kenneth Branagh (also starring as Poirot) attempts to reinvigorate this classic tale for modern audiences. He partly succeeds. Retaining the 1930s setting but instilling contemporary filmmaking techniques—long unbroken shots, CGI trickery, an ever-roaming camera—Branagh replaces the midday-mystery feel usually attached to Agatha Christie yarns with a sharp and shiny prestige. There's absolutely no doubt that this version looks stunning, every dollar of its reported $55m budget seemingly splashed out on screen, however this can't disguise the fact there are narrative hurdles aplenty. Although a decent whodunit that throws up a plethora of twists and turns, the outcome isn't completely satisfying (or unpredictable), whilst the abundance of ostensibly important characters results in screen time spread too thin for any of them to leave a lasting impression. The famed sleuth is, rightfully so, the stand out here, Branagh portraying the Belgian Poirot as a dapper, well-mannered Sherlock Holmes-type genius just on the right side of eccentric. Dame Judi Dench is also a hoot as the snooty Princess Dragomiroff. A plucky update to a classic thriller, Murder on the Orient Express is a pleasing time-waster.