Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

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The Oracle
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Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Post by The Oracle » Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:20 pm

Obviously based on the Agatha Christie novel of the same name. For those who have not read the book or seen the 1974 film, the plot of revolves around a murder of a man named Ratchett on the Orient Express Train while en route to London from Istanbul. The train is stopped by weather when the murder is discovered and passenger Detective Hercule Poirot must put the pieces together to find the murderer before the train and resume its travel and reach its next destination stop. I will not go into spoilers in case anyone is not familiar with the story. What I will say is that this version of the story deviates a little from the book, and it has been so long since I have seen the 1974 movie I will not compare the two movies.

What I liked; This is a period film and the nostalgic train and train ride is certainly a dream for those who long for some of the simple yet elegant form of travel. I found the dress, scenery and sets to be fabulous. Poirot's mustache is epic and he has a cool mustache shield that he sleeps in. The minor changes in how the story is told does not effect the ending. I also liked how Poirot is portrayed. Although he is obviously and intellectual man, I don't remember the book describing him as a person who has trouble calming his mind and I thought that almost autistic trait was fitting for the character; I can relate to the needing to keep the mind engaged and the need to tire out the mind to rest.

What I didn't like; There was more character development of the characters in the book obviously, but the various interviews of each player were rather condensed (for time obviously). The Dr and Col. Arbuthnot were combined as one person. This gave a little twist to the plot, but they made it work. However, I still think the interaction between the Dr and Poirot was missing a little as a result. All of this gave a little brevity to the characters and I believe led to the lack of character development and revelations to come.


This was not a bad movie. If you are not familiar with the story, you might be a little confused at the beginning as you learn the characters. If you have read the book, you might be a little disappointed with this version, but I don't think you will hate it. Just don't look at it from a purest standpoint. Overall it is not a bad movie.

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Blackthorn
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Re: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Post by Blackthorn » Wed Aug 22, 2018 9:04 pm

We saw it in theater when it was new, and recently again on cable and we really enjoyed it both times. Your review matches our feelings on it, except we didn't see much of a downside, given all they had to get into the movie in the amount of time they had.
The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything….Albert Einstein

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n11pilot
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Re: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Post by n11pilot » Wed Aug 22, 2018 9:53 pm

To be honest I am not a huge Agatha Christie fan but I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I think that I enjoyed the acting of superb cast lead by Kenneth Branagh as much as the story line.

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The Oracle
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Re: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Post by The Oracle » Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:17 am

Blackthorn wrote:
Wed Aug 22, 2018 9:04 pm
We saw it in theater when it was new, and recently again on cable and we really enjoyed it both times. Your review matches our feelings on it, except we didn't see much of a downside, given all they had to get into the movie in the amount of time they had.
I agree, time limits always results in changes from the original story. I think they pulled it off.
n11pilot wrote:
Wed Aug 22, 2018 9:53 pm
To be honest I am not a huge Agatha Christie fan but I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I think that I enjoyed the acting of superb cast lead by Kenneth Branagh as much as the story line.
Yes I loved the cast also. Although this is the only Christie book I have read, I also liked how they left it open to the next story.

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n11pilot
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Re: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Post by n11pilot » Thu Aug 23, 2018 11:42 am

The Oracle wrote:
Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:17 am
Yes I loved the cast also. Although this is the only Christie book I have read, I also liked how they left it open to the next story.

I think the studio sensed that there may be a market for a Hercule Poirot franchise with Branagh as the star.

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Cousi
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Re: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Post by Cousi » Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:53 pm

I really enjoyed the movie. I hadn't read the book in more than a couple decades so I honestly barely remembered anything about it. Thank you for detailing the combined characters, I knew something was 'off' but couldn't remember it. That didn't kill my enjoyment of the movie at all though. Branagh nailed my recollection of Poirot in terms of personality.

The real highlight to me was the scenery outside the train and the train itself. It really captured my admittedly probably overly romantic thoughts about that mode of travel.

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Blackthorn
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Re: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Post by Blackthorn » Thu Aug 23, 2018 1:58 pm

n11pilot wrote:
Thu Aug 23, 2018 11:42 am
The Oracle wrote:
Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:17 am
Yes I loved the cast also. Although this is the only Christie book I have read, I also liked how they left it open to the next story.

I think the studio sensed that there may be a market for a Hercule Poirot franchise with Branagh as the star.
I hope so.
The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything….Albert Einstein

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The Oracle
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Re: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Post by The Oracle » Fri Aug 24, 2018 1:49 am

Blackthorn wrote:
Thu Aug 23, 2018 1:58 pm
n11pilot wrote:
Thu Aug 23, 2018 11:42 am
The Oracle wrote:
Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:17 am
Yes I loved the cast also. Although this is the only Christie book I have read, I also liked how they left it open to the next story.

I think the studio sensed that there may be a market for a Hercule Poirot franchise with Branagh as the star.
I hope so.
I would love to see more. I wish they would have marketed the movie better and perhaps a sequel would be more likely.

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Blackthorn
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Re: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Post by Blackthorn » Fri Aug 24, 2018 6:56 pm

I'm sure it wasn't cheap to make, given all the great locations and effects, but I'm hoping they will do Death on the Nile with the same quality.
The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything….Albert Einstein

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The Oracle
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Re: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Post by The Oracle » Fri Sep 14, 2018 6:47 pm

I just looked, Death on the Nile is in preproduction stages

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