In the week that saw him become the first person to receive seven Oscar nominations in different categories across their career, Kenneth Branagh also has the usual distinction of having two films he's directed in Irish cinemas at the same time. First came Belfast, and now it's joined by his Murder on the Orient Express follow-up, with the man himself double-jobbing once again as Agatha Christie's master sleuth Hercule Poirot.
There are no detective prizes for figuring out which film should be your priority.
Beginning with a clever WWI prologue, Death on the Nile then moves forward to 1937 as the "in hiding from cases" Poirot somehow finds himself among the well-heeled aboard the S.S. Karnak as it travels from Cairo to the pyramids of Giza and beyond. Among them are newlyweds, a jilted lover, a lawyer, an old friend - and plenty more with something to hide. Sure enough, Poirot's hopes of some R & R don't last long.
Branagh and 20th Century Studios found a pot of gold on the Orient Express in 2017 when the defiantly old-school thriller became a surprise box office hit, taking nearly $353 million on a $55 million budget. It will be interesting to see how much business Death on the Nile does on its $90 million war chest, as, bluntly, it's the weaker film.
Once again, Branagh is great as Poirot, but this whodunit lacks tension as it travels downriver. They've gone big on the visuals - Morocco and heavy CGI doubling for Egypt - when the story didn't need that. Orient Express worked because it felt so claustrophobic; the cabin walls never feel like they're closing in here.
In terms of additional wattage, Gal Gadot fares best in the new ensemble while some of her and Branagh's co-stars feel underused in a movie that really is in no rush to solve the mystery. Like Poirot, we're left wondering about what might have been.
Should the receipts allow, and Branagh decides to go for a Herculean hat-trick, he would do well to consider reuniting with his Belfast stars Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan and Ciarán Hinds. Evil Under the Sun, anyone?
