Death on the Nile
Published April 9, 2022
Film info
- Title Death on the Nile
- Director Kenneth Branagh
- Year 2022
- Run time 2hrs 7m
- Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime, Mystery
- Tagline Murder was just the beginning
Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:04 | Wasn’t expecting a start in the trenches. |
| 6:23 | “Do you have any idea how love works?” I never thought of Poirot being in love before. |
| 9:28 | Did they have electric guitars in 1937?? |
| 15:45 | This guy takes a lot of liberties when he’s dancing. |
| 18:03 | Dude, get off the pyramid. |
| 23:08 | “Her gift to her via me.” |
| 38:09 | Spending slightly too much time pondering what is real sets and what isn’t. |
| 47:55 | Is this statue place real? It’s absolutely incredible. |
| 49:42 | Flustered Poirot is adorable. |
| 58:42 | “Forgive me, the champagne, it loosens the memory and the mouth.” |
| 1:08:50 | I feel like they could have asked people not to be there to see them carry the body away. |
| 1:16:25 | You don’t want to get on the wrong side of Poirot! |
| 1:22:42 | Yay, French and Saunders - best couple ever. |
| 1:39:28 | “You cannot let a killer go free to protect yourself.” |
| 1:50:11 | I love the word accomplice. |
| 1:56:25 | It’s really not a good advert for the river cruise business - five bodies being carried off. |
Thoughts
I went into this knowing how it would all work out, having read the book in preparation to make sure it was a satisfying conclusion rather than a ’they-all-did-it’ disappointment. So the mystery wasn’t really there for me, but I did still enjoy the way it twisted and turned, and having the insight of how this compared to the book and what changes had been made.
I think it took quite a long time to get going, the whole prologue thing with the moustache and the romance for Hercule wasn’t really necessary, and the first murder doesn’t happen until a full hour into the movie. That is in line with the source material but for the first half of the film it feels like you’re trying to work out a mystery that hasn’t even happened yet.
But it’s a great cast and I enjoyed the way they worked against each other and together a lot better than the Orient Express, so a good follow up for me. Interested to see what movie comes next, as Branagh has talked about wanting to make an Agatha Christie Cinematic Universe - ACCU!
Rating: 4 / 5