My Movie Review of Murder on the Orient Express (2017) · 11:52pm Jul 24th, 2021
Greetings and salutations, my friends.
This is your top-of-the-line film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, I'm gonna give you guys my take of "Murder on the Orient Express". The 2017 adaption directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, to be precise.
Here's the rundown of it:
Hercule Poirot is a French detective who has the incredible ability to discover a criminal by noticing when things are out of order. He also has OCD and is incredibly fond of balance.
When Hercule is called back to London, he is invited to ride the Orient Express by the nephew of the train’s director, Bouc. While he’s on the train, he encounters thirteen individuals who have interesting backgrounds and personalities: American widow Caroline Hubbard, American businessman Edward Ratchett, with his English manservant Edward Masterman and secretary/translator Hector McQueen; elderly Russian Princess Natalia Dragomiroff and her German maid Hildegarde Schmidt; Hungarian diplomat Count Rudolf Andrenyi and his wife Elena; Medical Doctor John Arbuthnot; Mary Debenham, a teacher; Pilar Estravados, a Spanish missionary; Cuban-American car salesman Biniamino Marquez; and Gerhard Hardman, an Austrian university professor.
However, when Edward Ratchett is discovered to have been murdered one night, Hercule finds himself taking on perhaps the biggest and most complex case of his life.
Can he solve the case? Or could this mystery be one that even he couldn’t solve?
Before I get into what my thoughts on this movie are, I'd like to come clean about something regarding it:
The very first time I saw this movie was late one night with my family, and we got a DVD copy of it for reasons I can't remember. As I watched the movie, though, I had trouble getting engaged by it because I was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open, so I went to bed right when Hercule was investigating the crime. I don't know why I was so sleepy, but my guess is that I likely had an exhausting day.
However, my Mom and I saw the movie again recently after I simply picked it at random. I was interested in seeing the whole thing and finding out if watching it with a sharper mind would make a difference. I had no intention of reviewing this movie before, but as I watched it the wheels in my head were turning and I was inspired to make a review of the film ever since.
You wanna know something else that's interesting?
"Murder on the Orient Express (2017)" turned out to be even better than the first time I saw it! It's amazing how much of a difference watching a film with a clear and sharp mind can make, that's for sure.
For instance, the direction by Kenneth Branagh, and the screenplay by Michael Green, were fantastic!
Even though I haven't read the actual book by Agatha Christie, I could tell that Branagh and Green were being as faithful to the source material as possible. All while adding their own creative flair. When it came to making a mystery-thriller, the duo did a wonderful job at creating a story that was vastly unpredictable and surprising; the twists and turns that happened likewise didn't cause the story to get muddled or taken off track, because they helped everything piece together. In addition to this, Branagh and Green incorporated an emotional resonance and heart that's mighty enough to tug one's soul, especially as the ending was near. There were snippets of wit and humor throughout the film too, which didn't exactly make it a comedy but did help lighten the tone of this motion picture.
One of the biggest things I took note of as I watched this movie again was Branagh's unique use of camera angling.
In most other movies, the cameras often give us a frontal view of the performers as they're portraying their characters. In "Murder on the Orient Express (2017)", though, Branagh didn't limit the camera operators to just one certain viewpoint. They filmed from multiple angles! This process is great enough to help audiences take in the environments and settings on a whole new visual level while still making sure the characters were being focused on.
A prime example comes from while the characters are in the train's bedroom car. In many scenes where they were inside of it, the cameras were being shot from the vantage point of the ceiling. It didn't give a clear view of anyone's face whenever they were standing, but it took the movie on a visual level that was completely its own and enforced the feeling of the setting.
The acting, casting, characters, and character development were marvelous as well.
Along with directing this movie with great precision and creativity, Branagh portrayed Hercule Poirot wonderfully. The role was something he was clearly born to play, and as I watched him onscreen he appeared to be performing Hercule at a level of 110%! The French accent he incorporated was pretty spot-on, he projected his dialogue with outstanding power and emotion, and he made sure to play Hercule with great personality and three-dimensionalism. The character of Hercule was also someone I found myself relating to, because both he and I struggle with OCD and have an obsession with balance. The character's continual growth throughout the movie helped him be far from a mere stick character, if I may add.
The film's supporting cast members were likewise very fun to watch, and their characters were very human and full-of-life in more ways than one. If I had to pick which supporting performers and characters stood out to me the most in terms of sheer awesomeness, it'd be Michelle Pfeiffer as Linda Arden, Willem Dafoe as Cyrus Bethman Hardman, Josh Gad as Hector MacQueen, and Johnny Depp as Lanfranco Casseti/Edward Ratchett. As a matter of fact, I couldn't help but hope that Pfeiffer and Dafoe in particular would reprise their roles for a future installment of this film.
Finally, the music by Patrick Doyle was magnificent.
Despite his collaborating with Branagh not being anything new or unexpected, Doyle's score in this movie is a wonderful reminder as to why Branagh and Doyle are such a brilliant combination. Doyle's music matched the overall tone of the story beautifully, and the way he took his melodies on a vastly emotional level was incredible!
Now if I may be honest, the only real nitpick I had with "Murder on the Orient Express (2017)" was that there were some cuss words that didn't exactly sit well with me. I mean, the filmmakers didn't go overboard with the overall incorporation of cussing, but the words that were featured also kinda spoiled the movie from being flawless.
In conclusion, though, "Murder on the Orient Express (2017)" is an awesome film, as well as a superb showcase of Kenneth Branagh's talents. I'm deeply excited for the sequel that's set to come out next year, and I hope it'll be just as good.
So, I rate "Murder on the Orient Express (2017)" 4½ out of 5 stars.
Your positive review has encouraged me to look forward with seeing it someday.
the classic Who dun it?
everyone has a motive....
The name reminds me of a book about a Japanese express train... definitely sounds interesting, I'll keep an eye out in case it goes on the ol' telly.
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I took the time to research the book a bit while working on the review, so that’s why I said that.
5559929
I feel like that is a very essential piece of context XD