Death on the Nile (2022) - Movie Review
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Today I return to the scene of the crime for Kenneth Branagh's "Death on the Nile". Join me as I interrogate the witnesses, uncover the clues, and finally solve the great mystery...which one is better? This one, or John Guillermin's film from 1978 (starring the inestimable Peter Ustinov)?
Starring Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Emma Mackey, Tom Bateman, Russell Brand, Letitia Wright, Annette Benning, Leslie Hope and Sophie Okonedo
* All clips and images from the films referenced are the property of their respective owners.
#KennethBranagh #Poirot #AgathaChristie
David Suchet's Poirot in "The Chocolate Box" reveals quite a bit of his past - though not in actual battle.
I hated Branagh's Orient Express SO MUCH that I was actually surprised by his Nile. Just as you said you don't mind this adaptation of him being an action hero detective (a key thing I hated in Express but which I didn't mind as much here because it was better executed and less outlandish), I don't mind them trying an emotionally-weary, less confident Poirot. I don't think it's fully effective, but I do appreciate them trying something different. More successful however, I believe, was the substitution of Bouc for Mrs. Otterborne's death at the climax because it motivates and impacts Poirot on a deeper level here.
However there were a few things that annoyed me, one being the set design. Everything on the ship took a 2010/20's approach to art deco: geometric patterns but muted, grey color palettes and burnished brass finishes. It was pretty but completely anachronistic and meant to appeal to modern tastes more than to those of history lovers. It looked like the Karnak was furnished from a Ballards Backroom.
Also, there was some baffling decisions with the casting. Mrs. Bouc is against her son marrying Rosalie because she's... in the entertainment business? Was the film really afraid to go their with her race? Did Branagh think that the audience would be taken aback by having Mrs. Bouc (a high-society Englishwoman in the 30s) be racist? At the same time, there's a weird exclusion of Brown people going on. The Karnac's crew is made up entirely of White and Black crewmates... but no Egyptian ones? On top of that, there's a large number of women crew onboard and doing heavy lifting tasks like moving cargo and carrying bodies!! What dimension is this film set in?!
David Suchet was Poirot...no one will ever take that role over. That said I usually like anything Christie. Not sure of some of the changes .
That's true, he's definitely my personal favourite.
Thank you for the review. The Mrs. and I saw the trailers for both of the KB Poirot movies, neither one looked good. I’m sure the stories are decent but the cast, endless CG and liberties taken to the story would cause us to view them negatively. We’d rather just put in the originals and enjoy them.
Looking forward to your next review.
I've just discovered your channel and really liked it. Here you have compared the 2022 version of the story with the 1978 one, but what do you think about the Suchet one?
Thank you, I'm glad to hear it! I actually haven't seen the David Suchet version yet. I'm hoping to watch it soon, and once I do I'm planning to put up a review.
Was so looking forward to this- what an absolutely mess of a missed opportunity. It came across as a highschool play on a sound stage and dreadful character development- Agetha Christie woild turn in her grave!!
I am so glad you chose to review this film. I must point out, that Poirot was once an active police officer in Brussels, eventually rising to the position of Chief of Police. In his role as an officer, he once had to shoot a sniper off the top of a roof because the sniper was shooting passers by. I am wondering if Brannagh may have wanted to focus on THAT aspect of Poirot's nature, instead of just his brains. To be fair, in Christies books, Poirot was in his 60's in the first novel (The Mysterious Affair at Styles), and would have been in his 80's around the time of Death on the Nile. I don't think the character COULD have engaged in such heroic affairs. However, Brannagh's Poirot is far younger than 80, so perhaps he wanted to focus on the heroic aspects of Poirot's character. Just a thought.
Thanks for your comment! That's really interesting. While I love the books, I haven't read all of them yet. Which story is his encounter with the sniper from?
And the fact that the character from the novels is an elderly man is something I always think about when watching any of the adaptations. Almost always Poirot is shown as being much younger than he is in the story it's based on. I think it could be very interesting to see a portrayal of the character at such an advanced age someday.
@@HildebrandProductions In Curtain, Poirot tells Hastings about how he once had to shoot sniper from a rooftop. He COULD have been lying, of course, since he did that from time to time to force confessions from people, make them feel comfortable with him, or get information from someone for a case. However, since he had no need to get information from Hastings at that point, it's safe to assume he really did shoot a sniper from the top of a building.
Thanks for this review: I agree with much of what you said. "Death on the Nile" is one of my favorite Christie novels. I feel that this movie, on its own, is very good. As an adaptation that focuses on what, for me, were some core points of the novel, it fails. Chief among these points was Poirot's relationship with Jackie, which begins before the action on the boat, when he thinks to himself that she loves too strongly. The conversations he and Jackie have through the book are, for me, some of the richest moments of the work. The ending of the book also has Jackie killing Simon and himself, but the reasons for it, and why Poirot allows it, are all far more poignant and meaningful than they were for me in this adaptation. There is also an important developing relationship with Mrs. Allerton in the book. I don't remember if this exists in the adaptation. I do feel that much of the emotional and thematic soul and heart of the novel were stripped away for the sake of what happens with Bouc, and I find it hard to get "on board" with that decision.
Great review! I thought some of the shots were hokey too. But I went with a younger friend who has never seen any version of this story. He was pretty shocked by the denouement. In any case, can’t wait til the next movie!
I wouldn't ask anyone to sit through one of those abominations once, let alone a second time, but if you revisit Orient Express you'll see it has several bits that would make zero sense if you didn't know the book or the '72 movie.
Update, the Mrs and I rented this and Murder on the orient. We got maybe thirty minutes in before we couldn’t stand any more and shit it off. Then we tried the murder on the orient express, we managed to finish the movie but we didn’t enjoy it. We still can’t figure out why either of these films were even made.
I have a personal soft spot for the 2017 murder on the orient express as that is what introduced me to poirot and so I was really excited to see branaghs version of death on the nile which had quickly become my favourite Christie story. When I first saw this at cinemas, I was unsatisfied. I didn't particularly notice the cgi or how obvious it is that armie hammer was the murderer because I already knew the twist but what bothered me were the changes and inconsistencies to the story and time period as well as the omission of certain characters. I didn't care for the changes to the main trio but was bugged by the changes to bouc as they combined Salome, race and tim allerton into one and that completely changed mrs bouc who should have been Mrs allerton. I also thought boucs death was cheap like it was only in there to give poirot an emotional core which he already had a much better one in the novel with jackie. Also the whole bowers and van Schuyler being in love grated on me because of the time period as them holding hands through Egypt wouldn't have been tolerable in the 1930s so it felt out of place and forced. I then rewatched it with a friend recently and got so much more out of it as I went in with low expectations and found myself enjoying it quite a lot despite the fact I was constantly having to misdirect my friend who instantly thought something was off with Doyle. Overall a disappointing film as the suchet version proves you can still pretty much tell the whole story in 2 hours and still make it fleshed out and the Ustinov version while not as good as suchet is better than branaghs and is still extremely entertaining and this version is flawed but enjoyable and a good ride if you go in with the right expectations and take it for what it is which isn't a fully faithful book adaptation like the suchet version is.
I haven't seen the film. I am a huge fan of Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French and would have liked to see the film for their presence. Yet you didn't even mention them. Were their parts that insignificant?
I really enjoyed the movie, but I'm pretty sure scar tissue doesn't grow hair very well and if Poirot had grown a mustache to cover up a scar, it would have looked a lot patchier.
A complete waste of 70mm film stock, Branagh's second attempt at a Poirot remake is a self-indulgent misfire. Nothing about it works: from the cloying script (featuring a laughably pretentious prologue) and garish CGI set pieces (looking like hokey illustrations from a children's picture book), to the dud of a cast (particularly Gal Godot, coming on like a drag queen with the worst hairdo in the history of cinema). Interminably posturing and pontificating, Branagh's over-produced, fakey rehash only emphasizes the qualities of John Guillerman's smarter earlier version.
LOL Thank you!!!! What was up with the dancing??? lol. A bit much.
This was a film I was looking forward to since it was officially greenlit in late 2017 just a couple of weeks after Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express premiered. I loved Branagh’s first outing as Poirot, his version of MotOE was glamorous, dramatic and wonderful experience. I do think him and Michael Green had struck lighting, especially with how they adapted Poirot to have a character arc in the film. Unfortunately, this version of Death on the Nile, while still enjoyable, isn’t as streamlined as one hoped it would be. It’s a shame that due to production practicality, they couldn’t get their Karnak boat set on a lake in Morocco as planned. Though the real flaws are definitely with the script, which has good to great concepts and ideas, but ultimately the execution/direction for them felt rather flat.I would’ve wished the film had either deviated more from the book or stuck more to it either way. And since Green stated that the 1978 film had an impact on him when he was young, you can’t help but feel that the Ustinov film probably was more on his mind than the book, contrary to his ‘Orient Express which stands in its own right. Nevertheless, while I do think Poirot’s character development could’ve been handled differently in some aspects, I’m still excited for Poirot’s next case on the big screen.
any chance you might do a review on the David Suchet Poirot Series?
Definitely, I just need to narrow down which episodes I want to dive into.
@@HildebrandProductions If you don't mind my boldness in suggesting one of my favorite lesser known episodes is The Wasps' Nest. My reason for this is because it is so very unlike most murder mystery stories. Season 3 if I am not mistaken.
I'm sure I've seen it but it's been a while (I love those early seasons). Thanks for the recommendation!
Enjoyed your review!
Fell flat for me also.
I didn't like this movie to much but enjoy Kenneth brannagh and his interpretation. Besides every generation should have their own Marple and poirot
This movie is awful! No contest for the far better 1978 version. Do not watch the 2022 version.
Small correction: that's Rose Leslie, not Leslie Hope
You are absolutely right, I must have had "24" on the brain.
Bouc was not in the book nor his mother. I am okay with some adaptations but this was was awful.
Poirot and Christie are being destroyed by these "interpretation".