Murder-mystery that steams ahead

Starring:

Michelle Pheiffer, Judy Dench and Daisy Ridley. Kenneth Branagh. 13V.

Director: Classification:

Brilliantly cast and beautifully shot, the 2017 version of Murder on the Orient Express doesn’t derail Agatha Christie’s famous work. With Kenneth Branagh behind the lens and starring as Hercule Poirot, the obsessive-compulsive detective, Murder on the Orient Express is a crowd-pleasing train ride from start to finish.

It also speaks to my generation, those who might find Christie’s novels a bit too stuffy. If you’re unfamiliar with the work, this slick production will have you on the edge of your seat and get a few giggles out of you.

If you know the story, what Branagh has done is stick to the source work, but bring it to life with an exceptional all-star cast. The talent of Johnny Depp, Michelle Pheiffer, Judy Dench and Daisy Ridley certainly elevate the grand-scale film. Almost all the cast members are potentially playing a murderer, and they all give subtle clues to the audience indicating that one of them killed another passenger.

With the success of Happy Death Day, which was a hit among the young and follows the same solvethis-murder storyline, it’s easy to see why Murder on the Orient Express has blockbuster status.

The third act does run out of steam, but it only takes a few coals to restart the engine and the murder is finally pieced together. It ends with Poirot being called to Egypt, leaving the door open for Branagh to return as the detective in Death on the Nile. This could be the start of a very watchable murder-mystery franchise.