Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

I was in two minds about seeing Kenneth Branagh's take on Murder on the Orient Express. On one hand it's a story that I've seen done twice before, on the other, I generally like Branagh's work, and the trailer looked promising.

I also like trains, so if nothing else worked, hopefully there would be that.

On the whole, I very much enjoyed the film. There was a point during the investigatory interviews where my attention slipped, but the rest of the time I enjoyed the character interplay (and the scenery didn't hurt) sufficiently enough that knowing whodunit didn't matter.

The other issue, which will matter very much, is the question of whether Branagh makes an good Poirot. It's very difficult to live up to David Suchet's rendition - and thankfully Branagh takes a different enough approach that I was able to forget about the Suchet Poirot for the course of the film. It also makes the Finney and the Ustinov performances pale by comparison.

Finally, which is where Branagh's production really came through for me was the emotional response it elicited. Unlike some other ensemble films, I didn't get the sense of the stars mugging for the camera. Yes the performances are broad, but I didn't find them descending into melodrama.

Now I just want to see Branagh's take on Death on the Nile.