Kenneth Branagh gathers his finest classical skills to turn the old-fashioned murder mystery into an entertaining one that is worth watching, like the old 1974 adaptation by Sidney Lumet, he stars as the main character Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's "Sherlock" who is an obsessive-compulsive genius with an amazing mustache.
The plot
The Beauty of Jerusalem rises upon the scene in the year 1934, Master-Detective Poirot still needs his eggs to be equally perfect to have his Meal. He goes to three suspects who are accused of murder, and, being the genius he is, finds the murderer with his skills and solves the case now he feels tired and is in total need of a vacation.
Unfortunately, a letter was sent to him, informs him he must be in London for another case, Having met his friend Bouc, he boards the Orient Express, and now sets to London.
Tragedy strikes the train on that same night, Edward Ratchett (Johny Depp) has been murdered. Having his international reputation Poirot is asked for help to find the Murderer, now everyone is a suspect. The passengers are interrogated one by one, including Ratchetts assistant Hector MacQueen (Josh Gad), Miss Debenham (Dasiy Ridley), Dr. Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom Jr.), Caroline Hubbard (Michelle Pfeiffer), Princess Dragomiroff (Judi Dench), Gerhard Hardman (Willem Dafoe), Hildegarde Schmidt (Olivia Colman), Beniamino Marquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and Pilar Estravados (Penelope Cruz) who seem to be an addition to the story or perhaps even unnecessary.
The more Poirot learns about the passengers, the more complex the case gets, as they seem connected by an old tragedy in the past. Poirot realizes that this case isn't just as a "Thought on the Beach."
More about the movie
Branagh, the actor, finds a nice balance between Poirot’s colorful flourishes and his moral seriousness.
Visually the movie was great, the cinematography is stunning, The acting is amazing, you have two academy award winners and four nominees, it was directed excellently as it made you feel like you are watching "The Book''.
Murder On The Orient Express showed us that Kenneth Branagh is phenomenal in front and behind the camera. From the beginning which shows you Poirot’s legend to the long takes that remind you of how delightful this movie is, he also made a great work with the cast when he assembles them in the same shot together with a fascinating dialogue. He gave each of them their time to shine as they are interrogated one by one, And the action gets as much attention as the dialogue, it makes you cherish the smallest moments as the big ones. It’s a classy, riveting remake, and it will make you want to see even more adventures featuring this particular Poirot.