Kenneth Branagh

• Title: Murder on the Orient Express
• IMDb: link

2017’s Murder on the Orient Express isn’t the first adaptation of Agatha Christie’s work, nor is likely to be the last. Director Kenneth Branagh, who also stars as Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot, offers a stylish version of events featuring an all-star cast as mystery and murder unfold on the renown luxury passenger train which gets stuck in an avalanche with a murderer onboard. And, to make sure his performance won’t be forgotten, Branagh sports some of the most bizarre facial hair you’ll see on film (at least one not filed under Science Fiction).

The movie gets off to an interesting start by introducing us to Poirot solving an unrelated mystery which sufficiently showcases the detective’s considerable deductive ability to the audience. However, from this sequence up until the murder aboard the train, the film stalls a bit while getting Poirot aboard and introducing the variety of characters who will become his suspects over the remainder of the film. Once there’s a dead body and mystery to solve, the film picks up again, although the conclusion to Christie’s mystery doesn’t work quite as well on film as it may on the printed page.

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