Death on the Nile review: Kenneth Branagh romp is diverting enough but lacks charm
Branagh dons his comically oversized moustache once again as Poirot aims to solve a mystery while aboard a luxury cruise.
Kenneth Branagh's coming-of-age tale Belfast is currently picking up a raft of awards nominations, but the writer-director also has another film coming to cinemas very shortly: the much-delayed Death on the Nile. Originally earmarked for release as far back as December 2020, the film has been pushed back numerous times and now finally arrives in cinemas to relatively little fanfare this week.
Following on from his earlier Agatha Christie adaptation – 2017's Murder on the Orient Express – this new film once again sees Branagh don his comically oversized moustache in the lead role of Hercule Poirot. On this occasion, the famed Belgian detective finds himself among another eccentric ensemble of characters, this time on a cruise ship, tasked with deciphering which of their number is a cold-blooded killer. Screenwriter Michael Green also returns as the man responsible for adapting Christie's work, and although the storyline is kept pretty much the same as in the original novel, he makes a number of notable alterations – including the addition of Tom Bateman's Bouc into the story to allow for some continuity with Branagh's previous film.
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The film begins with a black-and-white sequence set against the backdrop of World War One, as we witness some of Poirot's younger days in the Belgian army. Here, we learn both the cause of Poirot's rather distant attitude towards romantic love and the origins of his famed moustache – both of which, it turns out, have their roots in an unfortunate tragedy. It's a rather odd opening and one that feels somewhat unnecessary. Overtly explaining every detail of a character's past, as opposed to leaving some aspects to the viewer's imagination, has long been a bugbear of mine, and it feels particularly needless in the case of Poirot – a famously enigmatic character whose precise origins Christie had always left deliberately opaque.
Anyhow, from then on the action zips along rather nicely, with Poirot eventually finding himself on board the luxurious S.S. Karnak, his plans for a relaxing holiday scuppered by a ghastly spate of murders. Naturally, there are plenty of resentments and grudges shared by the boat's assorted characters, and through a series of well-executed set pieces and amusingly melodramatic arguments, we slowly watch the detective go about his business to get to the bottom of the mystery.
There's plenty of glitz and glamour on show and some enjoyably ostentatious direction from Branagh, while Green's well-paced reworking of Christie's indestructible narrative ensures there is rarely a dull moment throughout the two-hour runtime. Meanwhile, there's also a fair share of fun performances – with Bateman, Sophie Okonedo, Leitita Wright and Sex Education's Emma Mackey among the standouts, especially compared to the relative woodenness of Armie Hammer and Gal Gadot, whose characters' whirlwind romance lacks a certain spark.
The problem is that, being one of Christie's most well-known works, Death on the Nile has been adapted for the screen a couple of times before – notably including a 1978 film version that starred Peter Ustinov, Mia Farrow, David Niven, and Angela Lansbury, among others. And compared to that version this one ends up coming up slightly short – lacking a certain charm and humour – which begs the question of whether we really needed another big-screen version of this tale in the first place. In fact, as timeless as these classic Christie stories remain, I can't help but feel that perhaps the best way of honouring her legacy these days is by crafting new, original mysteries clearly inspired by her work – as was the case in Rian Johnson's terrific Knives Out – or perhaps by turning to some of her lesser-known stories, rather than endlessly adapting the same few novels over and over.
Regardless, this is still a relatively fun time at the movies – and should work particularly well for those viewers who are previously unaware of Christie's superb denouement. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch, but it's a reasonably diverting piece of work that provides a nice dose of entertainment value – and if nothing else, affords filmgoers another chance to see the most gloriously excessive facial hair in cinema.
Death on the Nile is released in UK cinemas on Friday 11th February 2022. Visit our Movies hub for the latest news and features, or find something to watch tonight with our TV Guide.
