Death on the Nile

If you are a fan of Agatha Christie, whodunits, Egypt, glamorous globetrotters or Kenneth Branagh; I have just the movie for you.  Sir Kenneth once again plays Hercule Poirot (returning as the classic Belgian detective with the little grey cells whom we last saw in Murder on the Orient Express),  He is taking a break from sleuthing by embarking on a relaxing vacation in Egypt.  Vacation abruptly turns into a murder investigation when one of the passengers on a private yacht is murdered.  It is obvious that someone on board is guilty of course, but who?  Therein lies the fun of the movie.  A myriad of characters and suspects are introduced.  All have hidden secrets and motives. There is the glamorous Linnet Doyle (Gal Gadot) who stole her girlfriend’s (Emma Mackey) fiancée.  The latter is stalking Linnet and her ex fiancée.  Armie Hammer plays the sleazy playboy – who may or may not only be after his new wife’s money.  Then there is Hercule’s old friend, Bouc, and his snarky artistic mother Euphemia – as well as Linnet’s ex fiancé, her personal maid and her lawyer, who all have something to hide.  The writer has added a backstory to explain why Poirot wears such massive moustaches.  This was not in any of the books I have read (I think I have read just about all of them), but I felt it was well-done and added to Poirot’s character.  Also two additional characters have been added:  Jazz singer Sophie Okenedo and her manager played by Leticia Wright, both with their own suspicious pasts.  There are so many characters, though, that some really get the short end of the stick as far as time on camera:  Russell Brand, Rose Leslie, Dawn French, and Jennifer Saunders immediately come to mind.  Anyway, this movie is exactly what you’d expect out of a whodunit – great scenery, lavish sets and costumes, tons of red herrings, a plethora of suspects and a twist ending.  The thing that keeps me from giving this movie my highest rating is I do think it was too long and dragged in the middle.  But still, I am a big fan of whodunits, and if you are too, you are still going to want to catch this one (and hopefully the next one).