Refreshing Remake of Poirot, Finally

Rating: 8/10 (7 December 2017)

First I do question those who are panning this movie so very much. It is hardly as bad as their opinions make it sound. Also, the complaint or question of why yet another "Murder on the Orient Express" is a bit of a reach. That this viewer has seen, this is the second filmed for the big screen (1974 & 2017). Two television movies have been made (2001 & 2010).
In our opinion one of the made for TV versions (with David Suchet) is the only TV one that is respectable as it fit very well in the long- running Poirot series for TV with Suchet. In 1974 Albert Finney filled the role of Hercule Poirot and he along with Suchet, presented the character of Poirot as a near fancy man. Suchet certainly did Poirot for many viewers in our generation what Rathbone did for the Sherlock Holmes character. Albert Finney in the 1974 film may have set that tone as he did little to establish Poirot as anything different.
That is the really refreshing thing about the 2017 film and Kenneth Branagh gave us a Poirot that has backbone and not so much silliness. Yet, he remained the refined character which we believe Agatha Christie originally created. Even his mustache had character instead of being some pastie glued on each day. Branagh is already a favorite out of his Wallender series in both English and Swedish. As an actor he has breadth and many faces. We found ourselves cheering his significant physical encounters and cannot imagine either Suchet, Finny or Peter Ustinov (in the 2001 TV version) engaging the other passengers/suspects as is seen in this recent film. Peter Ustinov on both the Nile film and the TV modernized version was almost embarrassing. Here, we see a respectable Belgium able to stand and hold his position.
Granted the 1974 was cast with much more care and used significant quality actors across the board. This one petered out and is why it get an 8 rather than a 10 from this viewer. It is not difficult to see that one film really had a cast of quality heavies. Besides Albert Finney as Poirot there was also Martin Balsam, Richard Widmark, Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Anthony Perkins, John Gielgud, Michael York, Jacqueline Bisset, Vanessa Redgrave and Ingrid Bergman, who won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Greta Ohlsson. That made 10 out of 12.
This version was lacking significantly in the cast of notables. the notables included Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penélope Cruz, Dame Judi Dench, and Willem Dafoe. Only 5 of 12. Even of these few, Pfeiffer and Cruz are not in the league of the previous list. This was a disappointment for this viewer and perhaps some of the reason others downgrade the movie.We even have to say Depp was totally miscast for this movie. The man just couldn't bring across the meanness necessary to be one deserving of what happened.
Over all the story is told well in spite of name and ethnic changes that had to fit the actors cast for the parts. Always pressed to have diversity, stories are rewritten and original threads dismissed in order to achieve that diversity. Original intent and custom of the era are cast aside for the sake of the ever present need to be "PC". And while the cast suffered some weaknesses the main character HP, the man with the little gray cells was much better and more on the mark of how the original story created him to be. And if they are going to change names and ethnic origins for the story's characters then we can indeed say, "Love That mustache." And I'll bet Sam Elliot could get a bit jealous of it too.