While fans of the earlier adaptations of Agatha Christie’s classic Poirot novel may feel that this version adds nothing new to the source material, first time viewers are likely to be captivated by the all-star cast and the central whodunnit mystery.

Premise: While holidaying in Egypt in 1937, renowned detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) bumps into his friend Bouc (Tom Bateman) and is invited to join the wedding celebrations of Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot), a wealthy heiress who has just married Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer). But Simon was previously engaged to Linnet’s good friend Jackie de Bellefort (Emma Mackey), and when Jackie crashes the wedding celebrations, events take a darker turn.

Review:

I’ll confess that although I do love a good whodunnit, I’ve not seen that many adaptations of Agatha Christie’s Poirot stories, and I’ve never seen any of the previous versions of Death on the Nile. Perhaps this was just because, growing up, those previous versions all seemed a bit “old fashioned”, like their target audience was more likely to be my grandparents than my generation. Whatever the reason, it meant that I was able to approach Kenneth Branagh’s 2022 version of Death on the Nile without any preconceptions (or spoilers).

I had only seen Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 version of Murder on the Orient Express relatively recently, but I thoroughly enjoyed its impressive cast list and the way it approached the period setting with a much more modern cinematic eye. In many respects, this adaptation of Death on the Nile is more of the same, and so if Branagh’s approach in Murder on the Orient Express worked for you, then so should this (and vice versa if it didn’t).

“…the main selling point is the impressive cast list…”

Just as with Branagh’s approach in Murder on the Orient Express, the main selling point in Death on the Nile is its impressive cast list. Gal Gadot leads the cast as Linnet Ridgeway, the heiress who invites a select group of friends to join her on a Nile cruise to celebrate her marriage to Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer). Emma Mackey gets plenty to sink her teeth into as the third part of the love triangle, and she ably holds her own in what is arguably her biggest role to date. Tom Bateman returns as Poirot’s friend Bouc from Murder on the Orient Express, and is this time accompanied by Annette Bening playing his mother. The rest of the wedding party are played by (in alphabetical order, to avoid any potential spoilers): Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Rose Leslie, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders and Letitia Wright, all of whom play their parts very well (even if Jennifer Saunders always seems on the verge to becoming a spoof of her character).

Just as he did in Murder on the Orient Express, Kenneth Branagh hits just the right balance in his portrayal of Hercule Poirot between dominating the scenes and melting into the background to let the other characters each have their moments in the spotlight. There are times when he seems to be coming close to almost being a caricature with his obsessions and foibles, but then suddenly Branagh will bring unexpected emotional depth to Poirot when a crack in his emotional armour is revealed.

“…I found the central mystery engaging & ultimately very satisfying…”

Agatha Christie is considered the master of the whodunnit genre for a reason, and as someone who hadn’t read the novel or seen the previous versions of Death on the Nile, it’s fair to say that I found the central mystery engaging and ultimately very satisfying, and even when I came close to thinking I’d figured it out, the various red herrings and bluffs would make me second-guess myself. In this respect, Branagh’s direction actually played an integral part in what made the ultimate reveal so satisfying, thanks to the way in which he shot certain key scenes earlier in the movie.

That said, this is not a movie without its flaws. While I had no complaint about the decision to open with a flashback to Poirot’s time in the First World War (which I believe is not a part of the original novel), the pacing of the film (especially in the first half) did feel off. Given that the film is a little over 2 hours long, the first hour drags before any actual crime is committed, and although I appreciate that it’s important to spend time getting to know the characters before they become suspects, it does mean that the first half of the film lacks any real sense of momentum.

“…there’s a lot to enjoy in seeing Agatha Christie’s stories brought to life by Kenneth Branagh’s engaging performance…”

Then there’s also the rather disappointing CGI that attempts to convince the audience that this was filmed on location in Egypt, when clearly it was all filmed using green screens. The CGI probably wouldn’t have seemed quite as unimpressive if it has been kept to the background, but instead, Branagh-the-director incorporates sweeping vistas and soaring camera angles that just serve to highlight the CGI’s limitations. Given that the Nile location is entirely superfluous to the plot (the only reason why the story is set on a river cruise is to keep the suspect pool to a defined number of individuals), there was no need to dwell quite so much on the underwhelming CGI location work.

But criticising the CGI in a murder mystery whodunnit is not exactly a major criticism, and the problems with the pacing in the first half of the film are quickly forgotten when the film kicks into high gear in the second half. Based on these two films, there’s a lot to enjoy in seeing Agatha Christie’s stories brought to life through Kenneth Branagh’s directorial vision and his engaging onscreen performance, and if he can continue to attract all-star casts lists of this calibre, I’d happily watch further big screen outings for Branagh’s Poirot.