Death on the Nile review: Kenneth Branagh's whodunnit is as long as the Egyptian river

3/5

When a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short, Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying hunt for a murderer. Set against an epic backdrop of sweeping desert vistas and the majestic Giza pyramids, this story of unbridled passion and incapacitating jealousy features a cosmopolitan group of impeccably dressed travellers, as well as enough wicked twists and turns to keep audiences guessing until the final, shocking denouement.

Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) left his longing charm in Murder on the Orient Express (2017), and he gets a new case after nearly a decade. This time it’s while dashing through the beautiful and long River Nile in Egypt. Unlike the previous film, which starts with the word "go" by passengers and Poirot aboard the Orient Express, in Death on the Nile, we see his backstory as a soldier.

There's a Two-Face (Harvey Dent) moment, and you will feel extremely déjà vu from the Batman series, but also unnecessary. Not just that, before getting on to the S.S. Karnak ship on the Nile, we also get a glimpse of the passengers and what motive they might have to murder one of them.

As for the passengers, each is shown as a sly potential murderer who can go to any lengths. And it's shown, however, that apart from being the accused, a few also turn out to be victims.

But Death on the Nile lacks the punch that Murder on the Orient Express had. The film is pulled down by its slow pace and the suspense becomes way too predictable.

There's more of an emotional touch with getting into the past of Poirot and even his relationship with Bouc (Tom Bateman), who was there in the first instalment too.

The film is a metaphor about a rose with a stem of thorns, as a honeymoon cruise turns out to be fatal for the couple, Linnet Ridgeway-Doyle and Simon Doyle (Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer).

The unusual aspect of the characters in the Agatha Christie novel of the same name is their uniqueness coming together. It's interesting how they are connected to that one character, making them possible accusers.

The novel is filled with passion, love, sexual tensions and infidelity which have been captured minimally in the film. However, it has been one of the most loved books penned back in the 1930s.

The film has more not-so-good points which are going to stay with you than any good aspects. However, the plus is the casting, with Kenneth Branagh, Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, Letitia Wright, and Ann Turkel. Everyone beautifully plays their part, making them interesting suspects as well as victims.

But that's about it. The screenplay by Michael Green will barely hold your interest but Branagh's direction saves the day. However, the sets seem to be far more realistic and more CGI-sque, making the visuals look cartoonish. But Haris Zambarloukos' cinematography takes the cake as the beautiful (maybe special effects) Egypt and the River Nile come with more enhancement and look palpable. Well, in that case, George Murphy, the visual effects supervisor, has also done a great job.

The two-hour-long film seems to get flattened even before the crime is committed, and that's a huge drop down. As mentioned earlier, the guessing of the murderer becomes quite easy, and even the motive of the crime.

Well, it's good that Branagh has Belfast to ride on in the ongoing Oscars 2022 season.

Death on the Nile seems to be as long as the Egyptian river and lacks the depth one could have wished for. But brownie points to Ali Fazal for performing the role of Andrew Katchadourian amazingly. The man gets every nuance right and is not just seen in the backdrop.