A direct sequel to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile is a 2022 murder mystery once again directed by Kenneth Branagh. Hercule Poirot (Branagh) is invited by his friend Bouc (a returning Tom Bateman) and his mother, Euphemia (Annette Bening), to the destination wedding in Egypt of the incredibly wealthy Linnet (Gal Gadot) and her simple but doting fiancé, Simon (Armie Hammer). Also part of the wedding are Marie Van Schuyler (Jennifer Saunders) and her nurse, Mrs Bowers (Dawn French); Linnet’s personal maid Louise (Rose Leslie); Dr Linus Windlesham (Russell Brand), Linnet’s former fiance; Linett’s cousin Andrew (Ali Fazal), Linnett’s family trustee; famous jazz singer Salome Otterbourne, and her niece and manager Rosalie (Sophie Okonedo and Letitia Wright, respectively), and; Jackie (Emma Mackey), Simon’s scorned ex-lover. When a murder occurs, Poirot must use his wits to determine the killer and solve the case.
+ I consider myself a fan of Branagh both in front of and behind the camera, so both of these Poirot mystery films now have been great fun for me. Though the previous film had arguably the more famous cast overall, the likes of Saunders, French, Gadot, Hammer and Brand all give this film an air of sophistication (if that’s the right word)
+ Wikipedia tells me that the whole movie was shot in England, but that doesn’t stop all of the various Pyramids, temples and boat environments from being fantastic to look at. Add to that the costumes all matching the period, and you can easily forgive yourself from really getting sucked in to the world the film creates
+ the central mystery, the titular death on the Nile, is a fun one. It is set up almost identically to the murder in the previous film but as they say, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. All of those involved had plausible reason, but only the correct answer fits all the criteria, which is exactly what a murder mystery should lead to
+ speaking of murder mysteries, this was the exact kind of movie a murder mystery should be, where we the audience get every piece of information as the detective does. It stands in strong contrast to how I felt so cheated by Glass Onion. If someone in the movies talks of a missing shoe, you know that missing shoe is going to turn up in a meaningful way later, and the film rewards you for paying attention and thinking about it
> for what it’s worth, my paying attention led me to a conclusion that was almost correct – but I freely admit, ‘almost correct’ is not the same as ‘correct’
Should you see this film: I truly can’t think of anything negative about this film. The cast are all great; the story is perfect for aspiring detective viewers; the visuals are stunning. What else do you need?
MoshFish Reviews 