Death on the Nile (2022)

A Non-Review by Professor Popinjay

As the second installment of Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot’s Death on the Nile, I was expecting something as epic and thrilling as the previous Murder on the Orient Express. Frankly I found this one just kind of sad. It was well performed and executed. The story itself just came off as depressing. This was strange to me as I do not remember the David Suchet version being quite so sad. In fact I remember it being quite thrilling and downright scary in a good way.

I believe again part of the dreariness of this film is due to the lack of humor. Death on the Nile is once again without Poirot’s partner and friend Col. Hastings nor even Inspector Japp, another humorous character whom I neglected to mention was absent in Orient Express.

David Suchet as Inspector Japp long before he played Poirot in the later series.

I did appreciate the flashbacks which demonstrated Poirot’s deductive powers and their usefulness even in warfare. Plus we got an explanation for his outrageous mustache.

It’s a decent rendition of the story and it’s huge budget shows in its cast and setting. The Suchet version is still my favorite I think despite its small budget.

I’ve not seen A Haunting in Venice yet, which is the third installment of Branagh’s franchise. It’s based on a Poirot short called Hallowe’en Party or something like that. I’ve not read it but I imagine some liberties must have been taken to produce a full length feature from a short story. It didn’t stop Peter Jackson from turning the Hobbit into a 12 hour three parter so why would it stop Branagh? Should be interesting to see and I’d hate to see that without having seen this, completionist as I am.

Whelp, this whole article is also proving a humorless endeavor so I guess I’ll park the bus.