By Nick DelVescovo
Film Critic
Directing and starring Kenneth Branagh, “Death on The Nile” was released in theaters on Feb. 11. This film is a followup to the 2017’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” which, like “Death on the Nile’ is also based on an Agatha Christie novel. It also stars Gal Gadot, Emma Mackey and Armie Hammer.
“Death on The Nile” follows Branagh’s character, Hercule Poirot, a world class detective who is enjoying his time off in Egypt when suddenly he finds himself wrapped up in a murder mystery on a boat in the Nile River. Everyone aboard becomes a suspect as the distrust amongst passengers grows rapidly. While I didn’t see the 2017 adaptation of “Murder on the Orient Express,” I was able to grasp the characters and concepts pretty quickly. I went in with no expectations and unfortunately I was disappointed with the outcome.
A lot of the characters in the film are either lazily written or very unlikable, and for a film that depends so heavily on its characters, it instantly lessens the experience and impact of the story. The biggest flaw with “Death on The Nile” was its writing. I absolutely adored Branagh’s 2021 film “Belfast” and truly believe that he is a great director. While the direction and filmmaking was sufficient, the film unfortunately wasn’t captivating and at times felt bland and uninspired. Another tiny nitpick I had while watching is that the CGI and green screen effects throughout the film were, at times, laughably bad. There’s a scene in particular involving a snake that really took me out of the immersion of the movie. For a movie with a reported budget of $90 million, I didn’t expect it to look like something that came out of 2005.
With those critiques out of the way I can talk about what I did like. Branagh as Hercule Poirot was very entertaining. His moments on screen made up for the other unlikable characters and stole every scene he was in. His performance was very on-the-nose and added a lot to a dull and boring film. Just like every whodunnit, there was a great big reveal on who was behind the murder. That reveal was one of the only entertaining moments, and while I did not like the movie as a whole, I enjoyed that part, even though I was able to guess what character was behind it all.
Overall, while I disliked “Death on The Nile,” there is no doubt in my mind that some will thoroughly enjoy it. While uninspired and at times boring, “Death on the Nile” is an average murder mystery at its core, and there is some entertainment in trying to decipher who the killer is before the grand finale.
Score: 2/5
