Murder on the Orient Express

Murder on the Orient Express is a great example of a movie that nobody really asked for and I highly doubt anybody is really going to put it on the top of their list of movies of 2017. That's not saying it's a bad movie, I just think of all the movies that have come out this year, I can't see a lot of people looking back and saying Murder on the Orient Express was my favorite or the award winning film of the year. That being said. I do always find myself walking into movies directed by Kenneth Branagh forgetting how much I've always enjoyed his work in the past and suddenly I am swept up into a movie that I really enjoyed.

Murder on the Orient Express follows the story of a detective by the name of Hercule Poirot (played by Kenneth Branagh). He doesn't work for any law enforcement agency or in any official capacity but instead he works as a consultant, very much like Sherlock Holmes. He travels around the world solving crimes but at the time of this movie, all he wants to do is relax and take a break from crime solving. He finds himself aboard the Orient Express, a train taking a three day journey from Istanbul to London.

Aboard the train he finds himself in the company of a whole cast of colorful and very popular named characters. It would take forever and would breach on spoilers if I went one by one of each of the characters so instead I'll just list off the actors who are involved to give you a picture of the kind of stars involved in this movie.

Johnny Depp
Judi Dench
Daisy Ridley
Willem Defoe
Penelope Cruz
Josh Gad
Derek Jacobi
Hamilton's Leslie Odom Jr.
Michelle Phiefer
and Olivia Coleman

That's not the entire cast and everyone in this cast does a great job, those are just the big names in the main cast.

Soon after the train takes off it is struck by disaster and tragedy. First the engine is derailed off the tracks and the train is stuck. But more pertinent is that one of the passengers on the train is murdered and it isn't totally clear who the murderer is.

But Poirot takes on the case and thus the movie takes us into a game of Murder Mystery theater with close, almost claustrophobic, detective work with Hercule in the center trying to discover who is the murderer.

And when I say Murder Mystery Theater I do mean that in a somewhat deflating way. For as well acted as this movie is, for as great as this movie was shot, overall, it does feel like a murder mystery theater party and it doesn't feel like the stakes are ever incredibly to the point where it feels different than those parties that I have been invited to.

The benefit of that element is that Murder Mystery Dinners usually have a cast of colorful and interesting characters and that's exactly what Murder does. Everyone in this movie is really giving it their all. No matter how small their part may be, I remembered everyone in the movie. Maybe not their names, but their character. Again, similar to a Murder Mystery Party, all the characters have a very distinct characteristic (or characteristics) that make them distinguished from the rest. Leslie Odom Jr is a doctor, Derek Jacobi is a butler, Daisy Ridley is a Governess, the list goes on and on. Of course you have people with duplicate identities and people lie in the movie to hide their true motivations. It all comes together very nicely.

I haven't read the book and I haven't seen the 1974 movie so I can't say anything about how it compares to any of the previous adaptations. I've heard it doesn't add much to the previous versions but again this movie's biggest plot device is probably it's biggest downfall.

It's a murder mystery character piece. I have to imagine the reason everybody does a pretty good job is because each character is so distinct and fascinating that they outshine the story. The story is fine, but it's not a whole lot different from any other murder mystery you've ever seen before. I personally don't mind that, I think it's good to ahve something that's more run of the mill sometimes these days because when everything is being so different than run of the mill is actually kind of refreshing. But I understand how people might not be on board for that.

I think some of the performances that stuck out to me would be Kenneth Brannagh, Michelle Phiefer, Daisy Ridley, and Josh Gad. Again, everyone does a good job, hell we actually get a subdued serious performance from Johnny Depp. But those four were probably the ones I remember the most. I do appreciate the use of talented but not totally famous British actors like Derek Jacobi and Olivia Coleman. I didn't even recognize Leslie Odom Jr but its good to see he's getting work.

Overall, Murder on the Orient Express was good. It's not going to blow your mind and if you're not really into character studies, you might find it a little underwhelming, but I do recommend it if not for a pretty run of the mill murder mystery.

I know this is a pretty short review but I watched this movie a couple weeks ago and I can really only speak on the elements of the film that spoke out to me. I find it as a unique way of reviewing films that I can talk about a film with some time passed and point out the elements of the movie that stuck out to me over time. Maybe it's an excuse for taking so long to get this review out, I see it as a different perspective.

But have you seen Murder on the Orient Express? What did you think? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @MovieSymposium as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

I'll leave you with this.  Again, I have never seen the 1974 version of this film. I just learned Sean Connery was in it. Maybe it's worth checking out! Have any of you seen it? Enjoy!