Death on the Nile<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\nFollowing on from his earlier Agatha Christie adaptation \u2013 2017\u2019s Murder on the Orient Express \u2013 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\u2019s work, and although the storyline is kept pretty much the same as in the original novel, he makes a number of notable alterations \u2013 including the addition of Tom Bateman\u2019s Bouc into the story to allow for some continuity with Branagh\u2019s previous film.<\/p>
The film begins with a black-and-white sequence set against the backdrop of World War One, as we witness some of Poirot\u2019s younger days in the Belgian army. Here, we learn both the cause of Poirot\u2019s rather distant attitude towards romantic love and the origins of his famed moustache \u2013 both of which, it turns out, have their roots in an unfortunate tragedy. It\u2019s a rather odd opening and one that feels somewhat unnecessary. Overtly explaining every detail of a character\u2019s past, as opposed to leaving some aspects to the viewer\u2019s imagination, has long been a bugbear of mine, and it feels particularly needless in the case of Poirot \u2013 a famously enigmatic character whose precise origins Christie had always left deliberately opaque.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s plenty of glitz and glamour on show and some enjoyably ostentatious direction from Branagh, while Green\u2019s well-paced reworking of Christie\u2019s indestructible narrative ensures there is rarely a dull moment throughout the two-hour runtime. Meanwhile, there\u2019s also a fair share of fun performances \u2013 with Bateman, Sophie Okonedo, Leitita Wright and Sex Education<\/a>\u2018s Emma Mackey among the standouts, especially compared to the relative woodenness of Armie Hammer and Gal Gadot, whose characters\u2019 whirlwind romance lacks a certain spark.<\/p>\n