More of an exercise for the cones and rods of the retina than it is for the grey cells

Rating: Null/10 (20 December 2017)

I just can't help but admire Mr. Branagh's Poirot's pampered moustache where you could see those wavy greying streaks still looking fab and untouched even with the Wagon-Lits snowdrift mishap. He never even saw the point in having those be dyed jet black as per the usual. He is damn good looking to be able to pull off even a silverfox version of Poirot because after all what matters is him having that same tenacity and conceit that the always eccentric Christie character is known for. I just hope he will not do a Lazenby after teasing the audience for a potential sequel at the end of the film. Poirot needs that workcation in Egypt and it would be interesting to see Mr Branagh in a setting that's more humid, because at this particular point in time, Kenneth Branagh is Poirot.
Having said that, how I feel this film stacks up with the previous MotOE adaptations would be for me like saying that the S Lumet 1974 version is up to my chest level, the 2010 ITV series episode is up to my eye level, and the 2017 version would be just above my knees. But I would have to assume the path that Mr. Branagh took for his adaptation is the one that leads to the introduction of Agatha Christie's brilliance to a new generation of readers or viewers. A more global audience perhaps is never a bad thing even though this meant sacrificing some of the substance in favor of the gloss. Gloss is good.
Mr. Branagh chose to establish a lighter tone for his film compared to the two darker well-known incarnations of MotOE while still retaining the seriousness given the gravity of the crime that is to unfold. Foregoing the motif of tabloid journalism, for instance, that is in the 1974 version. He's having none of it, and chose to shoot it down, so to speak, with that Count Andreyi bar scene. The strong undercurrent of Catholism that is apparent on the 2010 version was also toned down, incorporating a scene at the start of the film where three religious leaders being involved in a crime scene, perhaps as a gesture to be more inclusive to people of other faiths, which I don't object because the themes explored in the novel are indeed universal. Mr Branagh just made it more palatable and easier for everyone to digest. And if that meant the introducing some melodramatic elements to the film, complete with that Douglas-Sirk-film-ish song that was played in the rolling of the end credits, Amen to that.
The gorgeous and opulent sets in display in the interior shots are just as alive as any character that could have been another murder suspect. And owing to some dramatic licenses that Mr. Branagh took in his MotOE version, I think perhaps he even would have preferred the victim choking instead on some of those Belgian chocolates on the buffet table. That would have been quite a scene, and in my opinion, a way more cooler and sweeter murder weapon. Pun intended.
My rating: B-minus.