45. Murder on the Orient Express

If you know me, you’ll know I love murder. Murder is in the title of the film. I’m pretty much sold. I love a murder mystery; simple whodunit plot, and I’m there. Chuck in a few massively famous faces, and what could go wrong.

Now I hate to follow suit with any other reviews you might have read/heard/seen, but this really isn’t the best film. You might see Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfieffer, Dame Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, but unfortunately a well billed film doesn’t make a good one. Branagh directed the film, and gave himself the starring role, but didn’t live up to it. Depp isn’t in it for very long and doesn’t leave much of an impression, Dench also isn’t in it for ages (but she is great- her side kick is Olivia Coleman, also great, but maybe not the best role for her), Pfieffer and Cruz I just found annoying. I feel like the characters could have been explored and utilised more, as of course they all have depth, and this holds importance in the story.

Sometimes the plot danced around and it lost my attention. I found this difficult, as Murder on the Orient Express is such a famous story (obviously I’ve not seen it previous to this, as I have only seen films from 2015 onwards), you’d imagine I would be fully immersed in it. I felt like I was more hooked watching The Snowman, a murder mystery with some very obvious plot holes. There was a bit of ‘is it him’ ‘is it her’ whilst watching the film, but honestly, I wasn’t overly invested. So when I found out the big surprise, I found it quite boring. I found the ending a bit of a cop out, and I thought it could have been much more exciting.

Now here is where the problem lies. Do I find the storyline dull? Or is it the way it’s portrayed. Speaking to people beforehand, they had told me it was a great plot. It must be, surely, as it is so famous. I can see how the plot could be clever, how it could all fit together like a perfect jigsaw. But through this interpretation, that is not how I felt. I felt disappointed. I wanted more from the film.

Again, we ask the question- is there too much hype? Do the big names attract the attention, but detract from the bigger picture? If you have seen the story before, I would give this version a miss. If you haven’t, I reckon it’s worth seeing it, as it’s a classic, but maybe see a different version. Maybe I’ll see a different version and let you know how I find it (probably not). Overall, I can only give Murder on the Orient Express a weak 6/10. Not worth the hype.