Certificate: 12A
Running time: 127 minutes
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Tom Bateman, Annette Benning, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Letitia Wright, Jennifer Saunders
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
The story: Famous detective Hercule Poirot’s trip to Egypt is interrupted when a murder occurs on a newlyweds’ idyllic honeymoon.
The verdict: Plagued by both the pandemic (it was originally scheduled for release in 2019) and by controversies surrounding several of its leading cast, Death on the Nile has been a long time coming. Rather than arriving with the glitzy fanfare in which its trailer suggested, instead it seems to have snuck in to the 2022 release schedule as the Kenneth Branagh directed film that isn’t Belfast.
2017’s Murder on the Orient Express was a sleeper hit and audiences had every right to eagerly anticipate another surprise hit. Unfortunately, Death on the Nile doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor.
As with Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile boasts an impressive cast (controversies notwithstanding). It’s hard for the sequel to live up to the former film’s lineup of Hollywood heavy hitters such as Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench and Johnny Depp (to name but a few), but Death on the Nile has a fine cast of actors and several standout performances. Branagh has certainly settled into the role now and he feels more established and recognisable as Poirot. On the flip side, Russell Brand was virtually unrecognisable as the mild-mannered Dr Bessner and excelled playing against type. Most notable though was Emma Mackey as scorned lover Jacqueline De Bellefort and it was great to see her take centre stage.
The main issue with Death on the Nile is that the story is a lot weaker this time around and as a result the film often feels very surface level. Whilst Murder on the Orient Express was able to effectively surprise the audience with a twist, Death on the Nile feels less of a mystery and more a matter of time until Poirot declares the murderer and the audience can nod along because they already knew that. With suspense all but taken off the table, the film feels slightly overlong and proceedings aren’t helped by the fact that the first murder doesn’t occur until well into the film - the audience knows what they’re here for and making them wait doesn’t achieve anything.
This might all sound like Death on the Nile is pretty hard work. However, though the film doesn’t quite live up to the murder mystery fun, intrigue, and suspense that could have seen it excel, it doesn’t mean that it’s not a watchable film. The Egyptian setting is great and visually it is very engaging. This is the type of film that is an enjoyable few hours spent in the cinema, is easy to watch and is inoffensive enough to recommend to fussy cinema goers. Death on the Nile won’t prove particularly memorable come year’s end, however if Branagh was to don the famous moustache once again then it would be worth seeing what Poirot gets up to next.
The rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a half
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