Murder On The Orient Express
Cert: 12A; Now showing In 1974, Sidney Lumet gave the world a perfectly good film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express, fully fitted with an all-star cast — Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave, the list is endless — and critical kudos. Given the times we live in, it really shouldn’t be that much of a surprise to find an entirely superfluous remake in our midst. The good news is that Kenneth Branagh — leading both behind and in front of the lens — does a decent job of making it seem like a glossy Poirot murder mystery starring Johnny Depp is exactly what the world needed.
Eschewing the background prologue that Lumet’s film adopted, Branagh gets right down to business with a brisk introduction to his absurdly moustached Belgian supersleuth. It’s the mid-1930s and bar swathes of CGI (especially in those scenes along the titular train route) the production design all looks rather splendid.
That starry cast proves less cluttered than you’d think as well, with Penelope Cruz, Josh Gad, Michelle Pfeiffer standing out. Even the tiresome Depp is passable as Ratchett, the shady businessman who is bumped off one night by one of Poirot’s colourful fellow passengers.
It’s Branagh’s show, however. The Ulsterman is front and centre, giving a deft turn that skilfully balances the famous mannerisms of Poirot without reducing him to a Gallic cartoon.
For all these things, there remains a slight flatness to it all that consigns it to Sundayafternoon fodder.