When I first learned that they were remaking Murder on the Orient Express, the question that instantly popped into my head was ‘Why?’. Another cinematic interpretation when the 1974 version still holds up well felt pointless.

Moreover, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express (1934) is perhaps the most famous detective novel of all time — everyone and their grandmother knows how this murder mystery ends. It would be like making a film where the lead detective is trying to determine who Luke Skywalker’s father is. With these issues in mind, I felt that the only way this whodunit could succeed is by making the journey, rather than the conclusion, compelling. But does it?

Certainly, Murder on the Orient Express has all the ingredients of a good film. Haris Zambarloukos hasn’t had a particularly notable career as a cinematographer but Orient Express looks stunning, and easily one of his best works. Employing some of the same 65mm equipment as Dunkirk and shot in the United Kingdom, Orient Express has some gorgeous scenes of the frosty European landscape. What’s more, it features beautiful sets and costume design, and carries a quaint old-fashioned allure rarely seen on the silver screen today.

Murder on the Orient Express looks stunning and is easily one of cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos’s best works but it’s ...

Of course, Orient Express also carries a talented ensemble cast. This includes Johnny Depp (Samuel Ratchett, an unlikable American businessman), Michelle Pfeiffer (Caroline Hubbard, a brash American widow), Judi Dench (Princess Dragomiroff, anaristocrat), Olivia Colman (Hildegarde Schmidt, the princess’smaid), Josh Tome Bateman (Bouc, director of the Orient Express train), Penélope Cruz (Pilar Estravados, a Spanish nurse and missionary) Willem Dafoe (Gerhard Hardman, a quiet German professor), Gad (Hector MacQueen, a secretary), Derek Jacobi (Edward Henry Masterman, a valet), Leslie Odom Jr (the charming Dr Arbuthnot), Daisy Ridley (Mary Debenham, a governess who is traveling), and Marwan Kenzari (Pierre Michel, the conductor) as the main performers. Of course, there is also Kenneth Branagh, who is not only the director of the film, but plays the lead role of Hercule Poirot, a famous Belgian detective on vacation who is suddenly embroiled in an investigation when one of the passengers meets a violent end.

With such a long list of talented performers, and limitations due to the nature of the original material itself, it would be unfair to expect every actor to shine, but even so, the characterisation in Orient Express leaves something to be desired. For the most part, most of the oozing talent is limited to one-dimensional roles, which is unfortunate.

Then there is Branagh.

I must admit I enjoyed his entertaining turn as the iconic moustachioed detective and found him to be an excellent representation of the character, even better than Albert Finney’s work from 1974. Certainly, your mileage will vary, since he is such a key component of the film. But like him or not, Branagh is in just about every other shot of Orient Express. In fact, I began to marvel at the different angles he, as the director, gave us of his own mug.

Rated PG-13 for violence and thematic elements

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 19th, 2017