'Death on the Nile' Review: Down with the Ship
PG13: Violence, some bloody images, and sexual material
Runtime: 2 Hrs and 07 Minutes
Production Companies: Kinberg Genre, Mark Gordon Pictures, Scott Free Productions, TSG Entertainment
Distributor: 20th Century Studios
Directors: Kenneth Branagh
Writer: Michael Green
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, Letitia Wright
Release Date: February 11, 2022
In Theaters Only
The peace and tranquility that was temporarily present on the S.S. Karnak is destroyed after one of the passengers is found murdered. Renowned Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is entrusted with the important task of identifying which one of the passengers is the killer before they strike again.
It’s finally here! The most anticipated mystery movie of the late 2010s is here. Oh wait, Knives Out 2 doesn’t come out till this fall. Damn it. Well, I guess we’ll make do with Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile, then. Not even Disney wanted anything to do with this movie since COVID and a cannibal wrecked this ship. But alas, here we are at the sequel to Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express with another ensemble mystery that is in some ways better than the predecessor… but in most ways, just about the same.
When I first saw Murder on the Orient Express, I was completely turned off by Branagh’s take on Poirot. This character, a world-renowned Belgian detective, sounded like an Irish dude doing his best Inspector Clouseau. His first go at the character was rough around the edges, but he marginally improved in this sequel. Maybe it’s familiarity or Stockholm Syndrome but Branagh’s love and passion for this character got stronger, as Poirot is not only the central character, but also the heart and soul of the film. Branagh poured his heart out, bringing life and immense emotional fragility to Poirot. Outside of being the world’s greatest detective, he’s more fleshed out as Branagh captivates you with his transparent love and respect for this character through this performance. If that man loves something, he's gonna beat you over the head with it: the Dutch angle, Belfast, Van Morrison, and Hercule Poirot, for example. Thankfully, this comes in the form of a great performance — one of the few — in Death on the Nile.
One of the most notable pieces of the ensemble is Emma Mackey, who stuns as the femme fatale Jacqueline de Bellefort. She radiates so much rambunctious and sensual energy and becomes irresistible to watch. Within this love triangle between her, Simon, and Linnet Doyle, she runs circles around her costars. Sophie Okonedo also radiates as jazz musician Salome Otterbourne who is so classy and full of life that she even catches the eye of Poirot. Hell, I didn’t even recognize Russell Brand in this film, and for what little he was given, he was pretty damn good.
Similar to the predecessor, Nile shines immensely through its technical aspects and production. Branagh’s go-to cinematographer, Haris Zambarloukos, delivers a sleek and classy scope that keeps the tension between the audience members and the characters afloat. Given that this movie was shot in several locations and not on a dang green screen, it benefits from being naturally gorgeous. From their recreation of Egypt while shooting in Morocco to the classy ‘30s-era wardrobe and luscious set design, Nile is visually mesmerizing. Also, there are showings of this film in 70mm and I recommend that format, for it gives authenticity to the classic Hollywood experience, at least on a visual spectrum. However, some questionable CG effects pop up that make you question why they weren’t fixed since Nile was on a shelf for several years.
It’s no mystery that Branagh’s previous Agatha Christie novel adaptation wasn’’t as fulfilling as one would’ve hoped. Whatever shortcomings were present on Murder on the Orient Express, ranging from the varying quality of performances and meandered pacing to an anti-climatic finale, apply to Death on the Nile. It’s like seeing an all-around C student maintain their average for the entire year in school and taking pride in their mediocrity. If you were a fan of Murder on the Orient Express, hey… good for you. You’re gonna dig this a lot. If you were just lukewarm with it like me, this sequel won’t do the series any favors. It’s been about two weeks since I saw Death on the Nile (as of the writing of this review) and much like the predecessor, it went in one ear and out the other.
I’m not gonna sit here and act like I have any preconceived notion of Christie’s works. Hell, Branagh’s adaptation of Orient Express was my introduction to her works. That being said, the adapted screenplay by Michael Green, who also penned the predecessor, exudes milquetoast energy in characterization, pacing, and dialogue. You’re adapting from the “mistress of mystery” yet it lacks flavor outside of its gorgeous cinematography. Despite some of the performances by the ensemble elevating the characters they portray –– Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, Letitia Wright –– you hardly get to know any of the people on this wedding trip besides the bride, groom, and ex-girlfriend. Everyone else gets introduced via exposition by Bouc (Tom Bateman). The film is a tad longer than two hours and each character is given as much depth as a character card in the “Guess Who?” game. This is set in the 1930s and there are two Black people in the cast. The movie plays it so safe that it skirts around any race conflicts. With the film being so lackadaisical about providing personality to its large cast, the mystery felt uninteresting. It takes about an hour for the first murder to go down and by that point, it’s already a tad too late to pique your interest.
I believe that sometimes movies should come prepackaged with subtitles because weird-ass accents and voices can make actors incomprehensible. At least show me what the hell I’m supposed to be hearing. I don’t know if it’s Branagh’s direction or the actors themselves but there are some stinkers in this cast. Armie Hammer and Gal Gadot, who portray the Doyles, the center of attention in this mystery, are about the lowest on the acting totem pole. Gal Gadot is simply herself, as per usual (pretty with no acting bone in her body), and Hammer mutters nearly every line of dialogue. Whenever the two interacted with Branagh’s Poirot, question marks were wavering over my head as if they were speaking some kind of foreign language.
Death on the Nile is riddled with unfortunate timing issues. The mouse should’ve released this during the New Mutant days of the pandemic because some things here just feel so wrong. Man, there were ample times this became an unintentional comedy with the sheer audacity of decisions made. I don’t wanna give anything away but for the time being let’s just say this movie was the biggest supporter of Gal Gadot being cast as Cleopatra. In some ways it's a marginal improvement over its predecessor, but overall it's about the same in quality: great production, dull and restrained screenplay, good Branagh performance. If it wasn’t for the distracting sexual cannibal, anti-vaxxers (I see you too Russell Brand), and untalented zionist in the room, along with the script with no personality, this would've been a sequel worth recommending. Oh well, maybe Branagh’s third time at Christie's bat will be the one. Third time’s the charm.
