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After solving a case in Jerusalem, Detective Hercule Poirot is nearing a holiday break from work when he receives another. He travels on the Orient Express, a train headed from Istanbul to France, with several passengers. At one point along the route, the train is derailed and one of the passengers is murdered. Only Poirot can find out who did it.
Despite normally starting with the cast, I will provide a brief backstory for those who might not be familiar enough with the plot on this one. This is based on a famous novel by Agatha Christie, and one of many stories following the cases of Hercule Poirot. It was also adapted several times before, so this is just the latest version of it.
What Worked: The cast is one of the biggest positives. First, there is Kenneth Branagh (who also directed this version) as Hercule Poirot himself, and he is great here. The passengers are played by Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Josh Gad (Disney's Frozen, 2017's Beauty and the Beast), Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom, Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, and Daisy Ridley (Rey from Star Wars*). This being an ensemble piece, one might think there would be an imbalance in screen time, and therefore, character development. Actually, everyone gets just enough of both here, and their performances are also really good.
The cinematography is excellent in this. There are two shots in particular that stand out. The first is when Poirot is being led to his cabin, which appears to be a tracking shot. The camera is outside the train, but it follows him from when he gets on to when he gets there without breaking away to focus on another character. The second shot is when the victim is being examined, and the camera is above them.
With this being a mystery/crime thriller, there are a fair amount of twists and turns. They keep the plot going, and keep you interested.
What Didn't Work: There are a couple problems here. The first is the resolution of the mystery; how it happens is surprising, yet somewhat predictable, which is the best way I can put it without even implying it. Either way, you'll be half-right.
The other problem is the pacing. Some may find it slow on occasion, especially those who are used to faster-paced movies. Here, it's more about buildup; sometimes, a slow pace is one of the things that's needed in order for the mystery to be effective.
While not an issue I had, some may also find the ending slightly abrupt.
Overall: Murder on the Orient Express is a very good mystery movie. It has great performances and cinematography that get the audience's attention. The amount of characters will have them guessing throughout. While some may find the ending abrupt, others may be interested enough to where they want to see more with Poirot. That leads to the best way to experience it: watch it with at least one person who has read the stories and one who hasn't, but may at least be familiar with them, so you view it from different perspectives.
*I plan to cover Star Wars (including The Last Jedi), by the way, but considering the series starting with the next review, I might not be able to get to it immediately.