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Death on the Nile (2022)
(20th Century Studios/Scott Free Productions)
By Lucas Allen
Kenneth Branagh returns as Agatha Christie’s famed detective Hercule Poirot and as director for a follow-up to his 2017 remake of “Murder on the Orient Express.” Based on the 1937 novel, “Death on the Nile” is more of an exotic mystery, filled with many twists and turns on the nature of love, jealously and greed. Michael Green also returns to pen the screenplay, with Branagh assembling another all-star cast to help populate this mystery.
While vacationing in Egypt, Poirot (Branagh) is invited by his old friend Bouc (Tom Bateman) and his mother Euphemia (Annette Benning) to a wedding party of rich heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) and penniless Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer). At the party, he sees the other guests show up, like Linnet’s godmother Marie Van Schuyler (Jennifer Saunders) with her nurse Mrs. Bowers (Dawn French), her maid Louise (Rose Leslie), cousin and lawyer Andrew (Ali Fazal), former fiancé and doctor Bessner (Russell Brand), and blues singer Salome (Sophie Okonedo) with her niece Rosalie (Letita Wright). However, the joyous occasion is interrupted by the arrival of Simon’s ex-fiancé Jacqueline (Emma Mackey), who’s been stalking the newlyweds for weeks.
Soon enough, the large group boards the luxurious steamer the S.S. Karnak for a ride down the Nile River with Egyptian sights to behold. But Linnet assures Poirot that her life may be in danger from the other passengers aboard, which the detective advises her to stay with her husband. It’s not long before a series of unfortunate events start occurring including mysterious murders on the boat. Once again, Poirot will have to use his skills of observation and theorizing to find the killer before discovering one revelation after another.
Much like “Murder,” your enjoyment of this film depends on whether or not you have seen the 1978 film version starring Peter Ustinov in his first of six times he played Poirot. This remake follows the storyline almost note-for-note, with additional characters and plotlines. The first hour starts off slow introducing the main suspects and plot threads that are supposed to be important for the second half for Poirot to uncover the mystery. The 1978 version did it similarly, but that one paces better and it’s more interesting to watch for its bevy of legendary stars like David Niven, Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, Mia Farrow, George Kennedy and Maggie Smith.
Oddly enough, this one starts off with a black-and-white prologue taking place during World War I with a digitally de-aged Branagh before it flashes forward to present day 1937. Then for the entirety of the film, the movie keeps bringing up love being a dangerous power that it becomes a drinking game. As a result, the first half becomes an exercise in melancholy drama that you’ll have to sit through before it gets the ball rolling. Not to mention, there’s some dodgy CGI and obvious green screen that takes away its intended retro-style look.
Fortunately, the second half helps to improve the experience with Poirot at his usual expertise interviewing all the suspects while finding some clues. When murder and revelations happened, it keeps the viewer interested until the very end. Though it tries to expand the original story, the subplot involving Bouc and Rosalie doesn’t entirely go anywhere. But if you’re more interested in the mystery aspect especially for fans of the author, it will satisfy plenty.
Like before, the all-star cast help elevate the script, with Branagh giving another great performance as the detective with more emotion and stoic. Both Gadot and Mackey make pretty good femme fatales, while Hammer, Bateman, and Brand each bring a level of sinister charm all their own. But while Wright and Leslie both bring a youthful presence, it’s the combination of Benning, Saunders, French, and Okonedo stealing the show in the same vein as Davis and Lansbury from the ’78 original.
Coming off his Oscar-nominated “Belfast” (though this movie was obviously filmed before that plus his notorious flop “Artemis Fowl”), “Death on the Nile” may be a step down from Branagh’s more acclaimed work. Despite that, he does what he can to create a solidly entertaining thriller with some good sense of detective work from another great performance.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for violence, some bloody images, and sexual material)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3 Stars (Out of Four)
