Death on the Nile 2022
One of my biggest complaints about Kenneth Branagh’s first Poirot mystery was that I already knew who commited the murder since I had read the book long ago. With Death on the Nile I was completely unspoiled, so I was able to enjoy the central mystery more. The other complaint with the earlier film, which also applies here, is there aren’t many clues for the audience to pick up on. Because of the large cast, there isn’t much time for shifting suspicions or twists and turns. So it isn’t quite as involving as the usual mystery movie and, inexplicably, Poirot himself is almost never in danger (shoot the victim and Poirot!). The cast doesn’t have as many big names as the earlier movie, but it is still easy keeping everyone straight. They do a good job of setting up motivations for the different suspects, but not in any real detail. So ultimately it is a little underwhelming maybe, but I still had fun watching it and everything moved quickly. Plus you get some background about Poirot, including the origin of his mustache.
Written: 12 Feb 2022