Its been just over four years since 2017’s big screen adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express landed on our screens. Directed by Kenneth Branagh and featuring a star studded cast with himself taking on the mantel of the worlds most famous detective  Hercule Poirot, Murder On The Orient Express pleased existing fans of Agatha Christies work and also brought on board a ton of new fans. Yes we had become to accustomed to David Suchet as the Belgian detective and initially many weren’t sure how they would take to a new face and voice wearing the moustache and solving crimes, but I think its safe to say that most people took to Kenneth Branagh in the role and really enjoyed the film.

Now its 2022 and after several release date delays we finally we get the next story featuring Poirot on our screens.  Death On The Nile, once again featuring a star studded cast, Kenneth Branagh donning the moustache and solving crimes, and relocating the ‘whodunnit’ plot to a river cruise boat in Egypt instead of a train carriage in the snow.   But how does Death On The Nile fair? 

Now I havent been to a cinema since January 2020, right before the world went nuts and Covid reared its head causing cinemas to close, and release dates  to jump around like mad frogs. Since January 2020 I have been happy to watch films in my own home, I have a projector, a 4k blu ray player and a bunch of streaming platforms, and blu rays, as well as DVDs to keep me busy with films until the end of time, but there was a short list of films that I knew I wanted to see on the big screen for the first time rather than a home viewing, and Death On The Nile was one of them, so when the latest release date was finally announced and seemed to actually be happening. I planned my first trip back to the cinema. And it was definitely worth it.  I don’t need to venture too much into the plot of Death On The Nile, other than World Famous Detective Hercule Poirot finds himself in the location of a crime , and decides that he must solve it. Its pure classic storytelling and is a fun experience to join in and try to work out ‘whodunnit’ (which only really works if you’ve forgotten the story from previous versions, or have never seen the film or read the book at all, I was the former, id forgotten ‘whodunnit’)

If you weren’t a fan of Murder On The Orient Express, then you will likely feel the same about Death On The Nile, but if you were (like me) a fan of the 2017 film, then youll also be a fan of Death On The Nile.  Direct Kenneth Branagh once again shows that he 100% knows what hes doing when wearing his directors hat and the cast he has assembled  for this late Poirot adventure might seem a little strange on paper ( Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Rose Leslie, Letitia Wright, are joined by Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, and Russell Brand) But the cast work wonderfully and make for a great ensemble in this cinematic cluedo adventure.

The locations used for the film of course are stunning, and having been to Egypt myself a few years ago, It took me right back there (and makes me want to go back) and makes the film a great choice to see on the big screen.  So yes I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to the cinema, Death On The Nile was great, there were only around 8 people in the 2pm Friday screening so I didn’t have to worry about being distracted by a noisy audience (but I kinda figured Death On The Nile would have a quiet audience for this time) but I did leave the cinema with a couple of burning questions.  Will there be another Kenneth Branagh cinematic Agatha Christie adaptation? and if yes, what will it be and when? If we are treated to another one, Ill be there! and I hope Kenneth is too!