Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express is a film starring Kenneth Branagh and headlined by many A-list actors. We thought this was a pretty entertaining mystery though the large amount of characters could become confusing.
Nathanyal : 8.8/10
Non-Spoiler:
Murder on the Orient Express was a pretty fun mystery movie to watch. From its diverse cast, to a engaging detective, to even an interesting murder, I enjoyed most of the aspects brought up in this movie. I also enjoyed the setting of the movie. Making the setting of the movie on a train, you were constantly invested in the mystery, and it got you constantly thinking about who is or isn’t innocent.
Along with the interesting cast and unique characters, I really liked how this movie set up its detective. A mystery movie lives or dies from its lead detective and the mystery, and I’m glad to report that this movie does great in both. Honestly, there isn’t much I can really say without spoilers, but if you like mystery movies, then this is a fun one to enjoy.
Spoiler:
Alright, so the main spoilers to talk about was the whole reveal about who the killer is, or in this case, who the killers are. Now, I’m not 100% sure that I enjoyed learning that everyone was in on the murder, but for the way the movie was set up, I think it was the only way for this to work. I’m glad that this movie appealed more to humanity after such a heinous crime. All the suspects’ lives were touched negatively by the victim, and it was interesting to see how that influenced the whole movie. Another scene I enjoyed was the final scene where the detective revealed everything to the suspects and watching the leader of the group attempt suicide. There was something powerful with that scene that was entertaining to watch.
Overall, if you enjoy mystery movies, give Murder on the Orient Express a try. You won’t regret it.
Austin : 8.8/10
Non-Spoiler:
Murder on the Orient Express is a mystery movie that came out in 2017. It has a massive cast and a really complex plot. As the movie progresses, this becomes its double-sided sword. The complex plot lends itself to the plot and obscures the direction in which we are heading. At the same time, it does become confusing at times, and the characters make that aspect worse.
Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot was awesome, everything that a detective needs to be. Complex, reserved, and remarkably intelligent. This is a man that strives to uncover evil while having his own set of issues. Branagh not only puts on a wonderful performance, Hercule is a wonderfully written character. The plot and the dialogue lend themselves to the mystery behind this complex perfectionist. They also lend themselves to the development of many of our other characters. William Dafoe was quite good in his limited role, and Penelope Cruz was fantastic. The issue I found with most of our secondary-“protagonists” was there were too many of them. I struggled to keep all of our less memorable characters straight, with names and attributes swirling in my mind. It did make the plot more mysterious, but it was a struggle to stay involved when I got lost.
The plot was remarkable as well. I spent the entire movie trying to guess “who had done it”. I also spent a good portion totally lost as to who could have even done it, as we kept shifting from one character to another. I entered the final 15 minutes with almost no clue, but we will get to that. A little bit more stability would have made this a less confusing watch, but that was never the aim of our filmmakers. I didn’t love it, but if you can stand being minorly to majorly confused, it is a ton of fun.
With Death on the Nile coming out in the coming days, as early as tomorrow in some markets, I would give this a try. If you like mysteries, this will come easy to you. The characters are good, albeit confusing, the acting is pretty good for the majority of our cast, and the plot follows a decent line, again confusing, that helps develop the mystery of not only the murder but our characters.
Spoiler:
The ending. Wow. Incredible. Who could have guessed that. Every single person did it. And it was set up so damn well. They had red hearings coming out every window, and they all ended up playing a part in the bigger crime. I loved the way they set up certain characters to look super guilty just to keep your mind spinning. All of these characters do end up being guilty in the end, but not to the extent I had imagined. It gave Hercule’s character a chance to release that the world isn’t black and white, although that was clearly happening from the opening scene. The ending really tied all of the confusing aspects together and made for a really clear plot. I still think we had a few too many characters, but they all played meaningful roles in the end.
Sebastian : 8.8/10
Non-Spoiler:
This is a movie I had seen once before, though I had forgotten parts of it, I remember thinking this was a pretty good mystery the first time I saw it. This time around I feel about the same. I really like the idea of a classic “whodunit” style mystery and the fact that it is in such a confined space adds an interesting layer of tension. The idea of about 12 people all with different motives and paths forced onto a train together and then someone is murdered creates a thrilling and intense environment. I felt all the actors did a really good job with their parts though none getting large amounts of screen time so as to be more mysterious. Our lead Hercule Poirot played by Kenneth Branagh is a really interesting detective as he likes finding motive through interactions with suspects more than the famous Sherlock Holmes deduction method. I’m pretty sure in a previous review I stated mystery to be my favourite genre of them all and I stand by that. I love trying to piece together the mystery and discover the culprit alongside our characters and a good mystery can hold up to multiple viewings as you discover hints towards the final reveal and as I remembered this film’s ending, I was looking for clues towards that final reveal. I quite enjoyed the aesthetic of the old-timey steam train and the different carriages and even the way the characters said their lines I found it created an inviting yet sinister environment.
Spoiler:
The big spoiler is obviously the reveal that it was all the passengers working together who came together to commit the murder. We had already learnt the different connections that each character had to the victim John Cassetti who himself was a murderer. It was really interesting to watch Poirot piece together the web that connected all these people and their path towards committing murder for justice and revenge. It was interesting to see how they portrayed the group as sympathetic by showing how this man who they killed destroyed their lives in a sense. I do remember being shocked the first time I saw this and this time around I did recognize a few hints that I think did a good job laying the foundation for the reveal.
All in all, I think this is an entertaining mystery so if you are in the mood for this type of movie I would say check it out.
