Thoroughly enjoyable but a very flawed film

Rating: 6/10 (14 November 2017)

Let's start with the elephant in the room. If you were going to set up a remake of a Hercule Poirot film, you would not in a month of Sundays cast Kenneth Branagh as Poirot. Not just because he is nothing like David Suchet but because he is nothing like the character that Christie describes. In this film, Branagh simply dresses up in a moustache and thinks that makes him into Poirot. Unless he thinks he is setting up a brand new version of Poirot, but he doesn't even do that. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Branagh as an actor but his weakness is that he always plays himself somehow. I expect he was too busy trying to direct. Why on earth try to play the leading role and direct when there are perfectly good directors and far better actors for this part? Truth be said, this has all the hallmarks of a vanity project for Branagh. One suspects that Branagh cannot understand why everybody does not think he is the world's greatest actor and by directing admire him even more. Actually the film is rather well directed but more of this later.
Now, the rest of the cast play their parts well and are clearly well directed. We see them clearly and we hear them clearly as they speak their lines to perfection. The film relies on it's plot and from this point of view it works really well. That said, the previous versions were also very good but certainly not better.
The fight scenes were absolutely ridiculous and if any one thing pushed this film towards being a turkey, they did. Read the book Branagh and learn!!!!!
Now of course this film was not meant to be "realistic" in any sense, and clearly the producers and director wanted to product a visually stunning tour-de-force. And stunning it is but in a very unrealistic way - it all looks a bit like a realistic cartoon. The special effects are brilliantly done but they are very very obvious. The bridge, the train in the snow and the station look totally artificial although as I say, very cleverly done. I have only to assume that this "Hugo" look is intentional.
Now, I always comment on the cinematography. The 70mm film origination looks stunning especially in the effects-driven swooping shots of the train in the mountains. The camera motion on the train, especially considering the narrow corridors is top class and Haris ZambarlouKos must take credit for doing a great job here. I'm assuming the over use of shots looking down from the ceiling and the tracking shot early on of people walking through the train from the exterior were Branagh driven - they were unnecessary and irritating but some of us found them fun.
Near the end of this film Poirot - well Branagh of course as he is nothing like Poirot, alludes to Death On The Nile. Let's hope that if they have a go at that one, they get a decent Poirot!
BUT actually I thoroughly enjoyed this very deeply flawed film! Unlike a couple in the row in front. Said one to the other, I kid you not, "Nice cinema, shame about the film".