(Reading Dickens: LOL)

Rating: 7/10 (12 November 2017)

(This is less a traditional review than some scattered thoughts):
First thought/complaint: How in god's name are they out there in what is supposed to be cold and sub-zero enough to give everyone "exposure" for so long in just regular jackets and coats? Come on, Kenny my man, do better than that.
Second thought: while the best Agatha Christie movie of this decade still is and will likely remain The Hateful Eight, this is engaging, dramatic and full of robust performances (Johnny Depp hasn't been this good/sleazy in a decade, even as he has a relatively small role, luckily it's not the size but the keyness of it). It actually helped that I hadn't seen another version of this story - yes, shame on me for not seeing the Lumet one, I'll get on it soon - and the ending was sadder than I expected, which is good. Branaugh keeps his audience on his toes and there isn't a false note in the performances.
Third thought: This is not directorially up to par with Henry V and Hamlet, but I'm glad to see Branaugh still has it in in him to make a film full of vitality and visual ideas that are a little wild and a little of the usual (black and white flashbacks, really?) But where it counts, the movie is fully involving and the story shines however you cut it - in that way I'd rank this alongside something like the recent Great Gatsby adaptation: as long as you really get the goods right, and don't go TOO crazy stylistically, what works will shine through (also I mean, Pfeiffer, Dafoe, Cruz, even Josh goddamn Gad are stand-outs, and Ridley's fine too though now she just like has to do a movie where she and Kiera Knightley are sisters, right, like that has to happen now contractually).
Oh, and the CGi... eh.... But my positives outweigh the negatives here. Mostly. It's a wonderful whodunit story that kept me on my toes and had a procedural tone that kept me wholly invested. Not to mention, naturally, that giant mustache that is like a mustache that grew a mustache - or, more to the point, the Human Stachipede.