Review – Murder on the Orient Express

Murder on the Orient Express is a Hollywood gloss-fest that is all show and no go.  A who’s who of Hollywood A-listers have come together for a murder mystery that looks pretty, but lacks any real depth and suspense.

While aboard a lavish train, one of the passengers is murdered and it is up to Detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh), the greatest detective in the world, to solve the crime.

This biggest issue that I had with this film was the direction, which is really unfortunate.  Kenneth Branagh is an Oscar nominated directed and, arguably, one of the best actor turned directors working today.  Of all the movies Branagh has directed, this is my least favorite of his.  The movie looks great, but lacks in almost every other area.  Tonally, the movie doesn’t have a true focus.  It starts off rather quirky and fun, especially when we are introduced Poirot and his unforgettable mustache.  The mood stays relatively light even after the murder and then it shifts to really dramatic, only to end on a rather somber tone.  Branagh also does a poor job of balancing his characters.  There are thirteen key characters in this movie and the only one we know is Poirot, kind of.  Nobody is developed and every is just a pawn for story sake.  This is really disheartening because the cast is ripe for some meaty performances.

The whole movie relies on the ending and finding out who the culprit is and when it is revealed, I was rather underwhelmed.  It isn’t a horrible ending, but it wasn’t one that shocked me or surprised me.  This might be because the runtime of the movie is under two hours and the movie moves incredibly fast through the mystery that we never get a full grasp of Poirot solving the crime, the motives, and what is exactly at stake.  It could also be because the ending just isn’t very good.  You be the judge.

I’m not going to dive into the cast because it is an incredibly talented group of actors and they all bring it.  Branagh is joined by Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Josh Gad, Willem Dafoe, Olive Coleman, and Leslie Odom Jr. is one of the most impressive casts of the year.  I would say my favorite performance came from Gad, surprisingly, as he had the most to work with and really owned it.  It was also nice to see Ridley do some acting outside of Star Wars and it is rather reassuring to know she will have a career beyond the franchise.

Murder on the Orient Express is a forgettable murder mystery despite its impressive cast and usually great director.

Did you see Murder on the Orient Express?  What did you think?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.