To make a movie you have to understand the character of Poirot: Branagh didn't.

Rating: 1/10 (2 December 2019)

I have not seen the movie and although Branagh is a famous actor without any possible discussion, by reading the 2 quotes from the dialog here, it shows that he did not understand the character of Poirot and what Agatha Christie really wanted to say thru this great novel.
If I dont mistake Christie did not like Poirot. So she personified in him a kind of macho, misogynist man. He's very proud of his skills as a detective and thinks he will never fail to bring the culprit to his judges. He's also more or less a true catholic. The first error which appears on the first quote is to think that Poirot will listen to his heart. He listens to what is right or wrong and wont fail to do so in all the novels the author wrote; it is an error to make of Poirot another Miss Marple.
The second error is to believe that Poirot will justify himself like the second quote tends to show. He is too proud and his inner debate is for himself and no one else. He will never justify his actions before anyone.
Those two traits of character were superbly shown in the David Suchet's impersonation of Poirot in the television series. There was something of that too in Sydney Lumett's movie although the movie tends more to be a spectacular super production with an extraordinary cast difficult to equal today.Even the music of the film was spectacular with it's theme in the rhythm of waltz punctuating the sound of the locomotive and the rails, and somehow referring to the decadence of the period the late thirties and the horrors impending later.
The television adaptation has a great cast but not really movie stars like Widmark,Finney,Cassel, Bacall and others in the movie.
In the television production Poirot gives us the date of the action: 1936. The book was published in 1934 and make reference to the Lingbergh kidnap case of 1932. But may be that already Christie had some doubts about the political events going on after Hitler's and the Nazis coming to power in 1933. Justice is more and more torn to pieces by those monsters. This revolts Poirot. The ending of the television production is by far in accordance with the character and the way Christie judged Poirot. Poirot for the only time in his life has lost his case in his eyes.