DEATH ON THE NILE – Rated PG-13 – 2hrs 7mins

This Review is brought to you by Kathy Kaiser

DIRECTOR:  Kenneth Branagh

WRITERS:  Based on the novel by Agatha Christie, Screenplay by Michael Green

STARRING:  Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Kenneth Branagh, Armie Hammer, Gal Gadot, Emma Mackey, Rose Leslie, Ali Fazal, Rosie Dwyer, Jennifer Saunders, Russell Brand, and Dawn French

If you love who-done-its, and seriously, who doesn’t…then you have to venture out to a theater near you this weekend, to take in a world of access and intrigue – 1930’s style – as Kenneth Branagh plays both Director of the film, and our favorite sleuth, Hercule Poirot once again…

Only this time, we find ourselves engrossed in the beauty of Eqypt, as Poirot finds himself sniffing around a rather peculiar scenario, as the very beautiful and very rich Linnette Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) is swept away by the charming, debonaire and pennyless Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer) in the blink of an eye…

When Poirot is summoned to join them on their honeymoon cruise, along with a quite a few more peculiar family members, and supposed friends in tow…it isn’t long before this story of takes a tragic turn, as more and more guests on this pleasure cruise, seem to be meeting their demise…

And, as the plot thickens at every turn, it’s up to Poirot to figure out who is making a mess of Linnette’s and Simon’s honeymoon – and he better hurry too – as it seems like hardly any of the passengers presently floating down the Nile, are going to make it back to dry land…

I give DEATH ON THE NILE a rating of 3.5 out of 5:  Showcasing the majesty of a land far, far away, with it’s beautifully shot cinematography throughout, Kenneth Branagh manages to follow up 2017’s MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, with an intensely more passionate film for ol’ Hercules Poirot to peruse his way through!  And just as lovely as the casting was for MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS , DEATH ON THE NILE snags itself a couple big name Actors along the way too, as Wonder Woman herself comes along for this joy ride, while she toils about with her new hubby, played by Armie Hammer, while torturing her past love it seems too, played by none other than a very smashingly more handsome than I ever remember, Russell Brand.  And with the rest of the supporting cast making their marks throughout every side story that comes gliding along, DEATH ON THE NILE turns into one wonderfully entertaining film.  My only deterrent throughout this film, and the reason behind my less than perfect rating, is that the storyline this time around seems to be a lot simpler to surmise, allowing the viewer to figure out where we are headed in the killer department, much easier than in the previous film.  I also felt that the depth of Branagh’s character development as Poirot in this film, was a little slow to evolve, because I didn’t really get the sense of his intense sleuthiness, like I did in MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS until very close to the end.  But, even with it’s less than appeal, compared to Branagh’s original Agatha Christie tale, DEATH ON THE NILE was still very enjoyable to view, as it made for the perfect date night flick, for me and my sweety to take in, and I know it will for you, and your sweety too, this Valentine’s Day weekend 🙂