Death on the Nile - 6.0./10

Jadd J.A.D.D. Jadd I love Hercule Poirot as a character and the show. I liked the first movie, and the same can be said about this movie. No one can replace David Suchet as Hercule Poirot. Whenever I hear what is like in the book, it just proves that David Suchet's version is accurate and realised perfectly. But that being said, Kenneth Branagh's portrayal is my second favourite; he is charming, charismatic, funny, calm, with a good heart. Whenever both portrayals say, ‘He is the greatest detective in the world,’ I generally believe it. Speaking of Kenneth Branagh, he also directed this one and the previous one. He directs these movies with old-fashioned cinema filmmaking. You can tell he has a real love and passion for the source martial arts. Like the previous movie, Kenneth Branagh uses creative and impressive camera angles in small quarters, which makes for more of a claustrophobic feeling to it since it all takes place in one location. Glamorous cinematography, excellent costumes and make-up and a mystery that is full of surprises and chilling twists. The ensemble cast is fantastic, and the standouts for me are Letitia Wright and Tom Bateman. Gal Gadot was good in Wonder Woman with a few bad readings. But here, she is terrible. Even the line and body movement are flat and awkward. The movie has a long and uneven first act is long and uneven. There’s a flashback with Poirot, and they used that effect to make older actors younger, and it didn’t work. It was all in the mouth; the lips didn’t sync. I know COVID-19 put the production on hold, like a lot of other movies. There are times when it looks so beautiful and on location, and other times when the CGI is very noticeable, almost distracting, but I blame that on the pandemic. Most of the characters have vital roles in the story, but most of the characters get introduced, explain their motivation, leave and don’t come back until later. It was a long first act because with the extended openings, one being unnecessary, which makes for a slow burn and unfocused that I wasn’t invested in the characters until things got moving.