The New Review - Murder on the Orient Express

The New Review

"Murder on the Orient Express" On Blu-ray
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: An All-Star Ensemble Cast

So Here We Go...


Background Check: One of Agatha Christie's amazing mystery novels come to life. Yet another chance for one of my favorite directors to show off what he does best: adapt novels into movies. I will try my best to stave off any favoritism in this review... and for the sake of this one, and any like it in the future, it will solely be based on the movie. For this one, and ANY other... IF I say the words "in the book" AND what follows is a negative jab toward the movie AND it happens 3 separate times, you can add 5 points to the score. And an additional point each subsequent time. Deal? Now... on to it!!

Concept: Famous Detective Hercule Poirot(the original Obsessive-Compulsive Detective, before Adrian Monk... points to whoever knows the show) solves an almost impossible to solve case... then gets a vacation on a train... where he must solve an almost impossible to solve murder. So much for that vacation.

Execution:

Cast: I used the words "All-Star Ensemble Cast". Score: 10/10

Characters: The short amount of time you get for a movie compared to a book to develop characters is a really unfair difference, but one that is aided by a movie to do it visually on a scene as opposed to in your own mind. Diverse and driven by the story itself... but still felt it lacked just a little. Score: 8/10

Story: Agatha Christie would be very proud by this. Branagh was about to capture the essence of the story, and almost recreate it scene by scene, like he always seems to be able to do(sorry... trying hard not to show the favoritism). It is a very worthwhile murder mystery that unless you have read the book, you won't see the real outcome until the end(as evidence from my mother and daughter who watched it with me tonight). Score: 10/10

Visual: Time period piece. Done well for this movie. For the story... but it also takes place mainly in one area. So... they made the best of what they had to work with. Score: 9/10

Sound: The running of the train on the tracks......and that's really it. I didn't really feel like any music or anything else had any impact. In other words, a forgettable score. Score: 6/10

Flow: So here is where movie vs book are strained. In the book, the flow of the story felt more filled in, but that is because it could afford to given that it was in print and could take someone more than 2 hours to read it. But... the movie DOES start off very slow. Slower than I thought it would've but... once the story got going, it was flawless. Flawless. Even the flashback scenes were stitched in like a fine quilt. I have to dock for the slow start, but have to applaud the meat of the story to woven just right. Score: 8/10

Substance: Set-up, Crime, Evidence, Clues, Investigation, Solution, Pay-off. It hit all the marks it couldn't miss... and for a moment, it even threw me off... thought he might've changed the payoff/solution from what it was in the book, but he didn't. And that is beautiful. Score: 9/10

Closure: This is point of contention for me. Has been in ALOT of wonderful movies, and here are those words again... In the book, the closure wasn't really truly closure. I got why in the book... and yeah, similar outcome in the movie... and it has always been a weird feeling for me. So what was missing? What all did I write in Substance? What was missing? The answer: Fallout... there wasn't one. Hercule solved the crime... did what he had to do... then nothing. End of movie. Well... at least it was somewhat true to the book... so doesn't hurt the score too much. Score: 6/10

Legacy: Compared to other works of Christie getting movies, I think this one is definitely one of the best, though "And Then There Were None" still has a special place in my heart... EVEN if we had to watch it in school(6th Grade I think?). As compared to Branagh's other work, it is definitely up there too... but not to the same level as "Mary Shelley's Frankenstien"(if you've seen it, then you know what he is capable of adapting book to movie) but better than his live action "Cinderella" just a few years ago. Not the top, but definitely fits in, and makes me hungry for more. Score: 9/10

Extra Oomph: So... something I left out of Closure. The end of this movie had a direct reference to another one of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels, and quite possibly the most famous(and best) of the 33 of them, "Death On The Nile"(though not the story right after this one). That makes me think that Kenneth Branagh is hinting at himself directing and starring in more Poirot movies(like... um... "Death On The Nile... if you didn't get where I was going with that)... and I am SO in. Score: 10/10

Final Score: 85/100            B

Conclusion: While I think this movie was great, it isn't going to be for everyone. It's a murder mystery... no humor... no real fights... no true point of physical contention... and it starts incredibly slow. But once you get to the heart of the movie, and it picks up... if you love storytelling at it's finest... then you will adore this movie. I'm actually kicking myself for NOT going to see it in theaters... it deserved my movie money... but I guess buying the 4K is enough to make up for that.

It's all a matter of opinion: I cannot stress enough that THIS is MY opinion, you can either agree with me or not. I don't have to justify my opinion, because *clears throat" that's what this blog is about. Whether I like it or not doesn't mean you have to or not...... I'ts just my justification behind MY recommendation... Which leads me to my FINAL JUDGMENT...

FINAL JUDGMENT: I did say I was going to stave off my favoritism... so here goes... if you love his works, then you owe it to yourself to buy the movie. If you don't but love a great murder mystery and/or a great story, then you owe it yourself to at least Red Box it first... but DO IT. And(slight spoiler alert) if you would like to see Johnny Deep get murdered, then this move is a must rent as well(hey... I said who died, NOT who killed him). And if none of those apply to you, then seriously... if you would like to give it a chance, I encourage you to do so, but if not, I completely understand it, and hold no judgment over you for it. Just know, you might miss out on something different that is also very good.
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So I have given "Murder on the Orient Express" an 85. Good enough for a B.

Even though I really did love this movie, I think a B is a fair grade without being too overly fanboyish. But I did decide I was watching it again soon.

Next review should be "Thor: Ragnarok" on disc, though I did see it in theaters... just... wasn't ready to bring my review back before I did. Delayed, but oh well.

~The Master is Out

Note: The Closure... those who have seen it will understand WHY there was no Fallout, but those who haven't... please understand that it is a necessary piece to the story. BUT regardless... it irritates me to no end when a movie glosses over the end... or just fails to end things properly... no matter HOW much it fits with the overall puzzle. Not a defense... but a reasoning.