Death on the Nile has been a firm favourite of mine over the years and it was the film adaptation back in 1978 that gave me the love of the history of Egypt and the pyramids, so when the new adaptation of the Agatha Christie story featuring Poirot was announced I couldn’t wait to check out the movie at Cineworld.
Although Death on the Nile was originally set to be released back in 2019, it was delayed in filming and was pushed to 2020. Then due to the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic, the movie got pushed around several times until being set for 2021. Even more bad news for the release happened on April 3rd 2021 when it was announced to be delayed again to February 2022 due to the Armie Hammer accusations, but now after a long wait, the movie has finally arrived in cinemas.
Kenneth Branagh returns to the big screen for a second time after 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express as Poirot and to direct again for Death on the Nile, as the Belgium detective takes a trip down the famous river in Egypt aboard a paddle boat that is harbouring a murderer!
Before we head on to the boat on the Nile the movie starts off during the 1st world war, wonderfully shot in black & white, where we are introduced to a young Poirot (with some clever CGI to bring us a younger-looking Branagh) in the trenches and we learn a little more about his past, love and why he wears such a prominent moustache!
Years later we see Poirot at a nightclub where we are introduced to Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot), Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer) and Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey), then we jump several months later when we are now in Egypt where things have changed with relationships and now Linnet (Gadot) and Simon (Hammer) are now getting married and Jacqueline (Mackey) has been pushed away after Simon leaving her for Linnet, but Jacqueline has other ideas and surprises them and their guests at the party.
Deciding to try and throw her, the party moves to the riverboat that takes the ill-fated trip down the Nile, but Poirot is asked to join them as Linnet doesn’t trust anyone and fears for her safety.
One of the many things that stands out about Death on the Nile, besides the amazing scenery shots, is the cast, which includes the reuniting of the comedy duo Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French, it’s great to see them back together and they play their characters very well in this new adaptation.
Letitia Wright who many will know as Shuri in Black Panther as the daughter of Blues singer (Sophie Okonedo) and they both work together very well on screen, Russell Brand plays Linus Windlesham, which is a combination of two characters from the book, Charles Windlesham, a lord rejected by Linnet, and Dr. Bessner.
Bouc (Tom Bateman) returns to the screen after Murder on the Orient Express and this time he is with his mother played by the wonderful Annette Bening.
As I mentioned earlier the landscape scenes of Egypt look stunning in Death on the Nile and seeing the movie on the big screen in its 2.39:1 format looks amazing, with some great effects to bring Egypt of the 1930s back to life.
Death on the Nile has a running time of 2h 7m and for me, it really didn’t seem that long and I have to say that I enjoyed every moment of the film, I have to say that I did enjoy it more than Murder on the Orient Express and I would like to see a return of Poirot to the big screen in one of the many other wonderful stories from Agatha Christie.
Branagh returns as Poirot
Movie title: Death on the Nile (2022)
Movie description: While on vacation on the Nile, Hercule Poirot must investigate the murder of a young heiress.
Date published: February 13, 2022
Country: UK
Duration: 2h 7m
Director(s): Kenneth Branagh
Actor(s): Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Annette Bening
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
