Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

[baumer]

Discuss

[baumer]

It's a film I enjoyed but had some reservations with it.  There's so much dialogue and so much going on that it's very difficult to keep track of who is who and who is connected to what and how.  I think a second viewing of it would no doubt help.  But what was enjoyable about it was trying to figure it all out and it took me almost until the last 15 minutes to do so but when I did, it was almost an AH HA moment.  They drop enough clues to help you along and your so busy trying to piece everything together that you kind of miss some of the obvious stuff.

 

Branagh is terrific in it and Ridley is really good as well.

 

Right now I'm giving it 7.5/10 but on a second viewing it might go up.

[aabattery]

30 minutes ago, Christmas baumer said:

It's a film I enjoyed but had some reservations with it.  There's so much dialogue and so much going on that it's very difficult to keep track of who is who and who is connected to what and how.  I think a second viewing of it would no doubt help.  But what was enjoyable about it was trying to figure it all out and it took me almost until the last 15 minutes to do so but when I did, it was almost an AH HA moment.  They drop enough clues to help you along and your so busy trying to piece everything together that you kind of miss some of the obvious stuff.

 

Branagh is terrific in it and Ridley is really good as well.

 

Right now I'm giving it 7.5/10 but on a second viewing it might go up.

 

What about Branagh's moustache?

[Webslinger]

Kenneth Branagh's star-driven remake of Murder of the Orient Express is a serviceable, well-made thriller - nothing less, but also nothing more. It's a classy film with stellar production values and solid performances from everyone in the cast. Branagh's performance is especially good, especially when he arrives at the climactic monologue; he delivers it with such intense verve that the familiarity of the twist (it's pretty easy to guess even if you've never read the book or seen any previous version of the film) and admittedly over-the-top nature of the murder cease to matter until after it's over. It's nothing special, but it gets the job done with a fair bit of flair in its visual and aural elements.

 

B

 

Stray thoughts:

 

- I teach English and love love love A Tale of Two Cities, so I'm curious as to what exactly Poirot found so funny about it - like, to the point of being temporarily taken out of the film. Jerry Cruncher, perhaps? It looked like he hadn't progressed past Book the First, which isn't exactly rife with comic relief or cheery material outside of Cruncher's working class speaking patterns and struggle to figure out what on earth "recalled to life" could possibly mean. Then that got me wishing that Branagh - he of numerous great Shakespeare adaptations - might try his hand at Sydney Carton and Lucie Manette next. Okay, digression finished.

 

- As if the performance itself weren't already fun enough to watch, that Poirot mustache was fantastic.

 

- I'm really grateful that the finished film didn't follow in the footsteps of its ad campaign and replace any part of Patrick Doyle's characteristically solid score with "Believer."

[baumer]

I don't think it was easy to figure out.  I figured it out before the climatic scene where he finally reveals who the killers are but i think they did a reasonably good job of keeping us guessing.  I've never read or the book or knew anything about any of this before the film.  I'm glad I didn't.

[Jonwo]

12 hours ago, Christmas baumer said:

I don't think it was easy to figure out.  I figured it out before the climatic scene where he finally reveals who the killers are but i think they did a reasonably good job of keeping us guessing.  I've never read or the book or knew anything about any of this before the film.  I'm glad I didn't.

The clues are there but as you mentioned, there is so much going to, it's easy to miss. Mrs Hubbett actually being Linda Arden to me was a 'of course' moment because it's I didn't click straight away that she is actually old enough to be a Grandmother especially in 1934 where it would have quite common. 

 

I thought it was a enjoyable romp, the sort of film you can sit back and relax with great scenery and great performances. I did the Godiva product placement was very out of place and took you out of the film but that's only a niggle

[ddddeeee]

It's good. The action scenes really don't work but I liked the introduction to Poirot at the start. Branagh is MVP and I was lowkey dreading his performance - would love to see him reprise the role. The suspense is lost around half way through but it comes together for a strong ending: I'm glad they didn't shy away from the tragedy of the Armstrong case even if the flashbacks were a bit...obvious.

 

Cue of the year potential

 

 

 

 

[filmlover]

I thought this was the definition of "whatever" (FYI I have never read the book or seen any of the previous adaptations). It's well-made (although some of the outside shots look too obviously done on a green screen) and kept me interested in the outcome (although eventually I could see the twist coming from a mile away), but the whole thing is too bland and too old-fashioned, and it quickly evaporates from the memory upon exiting. Kenneth Branagh has filled the cast with no shortage of talent, and all of the participants do fine in their parts, but he's the only one who makes an impression in a very good performance. C+

[Frozen]

What happened to the old lady’s dogs? They went for a walk and we never saw them again. 

[Ezen Baklattan]

I enjoyed this a good bit, even if it loses a bit of momentum towards the middle (which is more than gained back in those brilliant, final 20 minutes) Branagh's Poirot is a joy to watch, while Pfeiffer, Odom Jr., and Gad are the standouts in the supporting cast. Getting into spoilers...

 

Spoiler

If you read Poirot giving the gun to the passengers as a test of whether or not they are capable of murder, and an influence on his decision on what to tell the police, it's a really fun element.

 

[afalconer7]

A perfectly watchable mystery flick. I was really loving the beginning of the movie, especially the introduction to Poirot, however the movie loses its speed around the middle then it eventually picks up. I thought the performances were really good and the film was very well shot. B. 

[4815162342]

It was good, liked the 1974 Lumet/Finney version better.

 

Film needed some more space to breathe, especially in the first act. The Count/Countess characters for example are introduced for about 30 seconds and then disappear until about 2/3 of the way through the movie

[Fancyarcher]

My review.

 

https://dailyuv.com/feed/931266

Edited November 14, 2017 by Fancyarcher

[Noctis]

Really enjoyed this one. Pfeiffer and Branagh were the best and consider her to be the MVP. I also really liked Cruz, Ridley, Gad, and especially that hunky British guy. Tom Bateman! He was great. Fun film, and the reveal was awesome. Killer final 20 minutes.

 

 

Edited November 14, 2017 by Noctis

[75Live]

I really enjoyed this.  I never read the book, I plan to do so soon, but going in blank like that probaby helped some too.  

 

Other than Pfeiffer being the main person and the actress, I didn't think any of it was obvious.  Yes by the time he was in the tunnel with all of them, it became clear that it was a team effort.  I"m glad they mostly got known names for the parts so it kept it more of a mystery.  Usually when you see a known actress or actor you can figure out why they are there, so having more than a couple helped with that if they didn't know going in.

 

Branagh was great, as was the character.  I can't think of anyone that gave a bad performance.  Very good cast that all played their roles well.

 

The reveal and ending was pretty amazing and glad to see they went that way

 

The mustache sleeping guard got everyone laughing

 

Overall, at least a B+

 

Edited November 15, 2017 by 75Live

[Killimano3]

I started thinking about halfway through the film that it was a "team effort" sort of situation, but I kind of ignored that since I'd never read the book and thought that "they all did it" was a little too out there to be something they'd actually go with.

 

It simply came across as obvious to me just because as they kept revealing all these people were somehow magically connected to this other unrelated case I thought "well I SUPPOSE that could just be a coincidence in the writing for added drama or something" but then what really got me was that all these people somehow knew this other couple and yet NONE OF THEM seemed to know each other? Like there's no way the godmother would not recognize the victims sister and etc. etc.

 

Overall a pretty good film though. Nothing that blew me away but it was pretty decent

[GroceryGuru]

As I review this, I have not read the book nor do I remember seeing the original. I know they made a whole series of Agatha Christie's books into movies (think bond) following the ocp detective. This film didn't feel like it was focused on that character with sequels planned out. One line of dialogue to Cairo suggests a followup, and I would like to see it. 

 

Like woody allen, we have a star studded film rich with character and setting with a well written script that unfortunately caters to its dedicated audience. There is nothing to make this appeal to a broader audience except good reviews and the ensemble cast. I for some reason doubt the book or the original movie had the same ending, but I enjoyed following the investigation and had my own suspects throughout. I was never wrong, quite easily. 

 

When everyone knows everyone and somehow the victim is identified as someone else, a sense of convenience starts to outweigh a good mystery. Still the setting and the scenery are used along with the limited space on a train to the best advantage. I was swept away into a time past with intriguing characters and I was involved with the search for the killer (s). I liked this more than I expected. Mom liked it too. 

[jb007]

Very well made and the way it was meant to be. Kenneth Branagh is excellent as Poirot. The supporting cast is very good. Nice locales and cinematography.

 

Bring on the Death on the Nile.

 

B+

[Valonqar]

On 11/14/2017 at 4:24 PM, Noctis said:

Really enjoyed this one. Pfeiffer and Branagh were the best and consider her to be the MVP. I also really liked Cruz, Ridley, Gad, and especially that hunky British guy. Tom Bateman! He was great. Fun film, and the reveal was awesome. Killer final 20 minutes.

 

 

You mean Daisy's real life boyfriend. 

[aabattery]

Laughed real hard when Poirot had that little cover thing for his moustache.