114 Mins, 12A, 20th Century Fox.
Just as the poster for the famous 1974 version of what is arguably Christie’s most famous mystery, showcased its stars faces like a Cluedo-esque comic-strip cartoon, this one has had equally starry publicity, for a cast that contains some of our finest actors of all time.
Sir Kenneth Branagh directs, co-writes, and also stars as Poirot, that fastidious perfectionist of a Belgian detective. Twelve strangers meet, and become stranded on the famous train, then one of them is brutally murdered…
Johnny Depp plays Edward Ratchett, a notoriously nasty gangster, absolutely terrifically - surly, slimy and relentless, but in such a subtle way. Depp dosen’t actually have that much screen-time, or that many lines, but actually has a couple more scenes than Richard Widmark did in the original.
One is a very interesting, lust-strewn exchange between himself and Michelle Pfeiffer, also extremely good, but again, as with Depp, underused, as the domineering, serial divorcee - Mrs Hubbard, previously played by Lauren Bacall.
The other key scene for Depp, is his famous confrontation with Poirot, when he asks unsuccessfully for his help. It’s discussed over what looks like a caramel pastry dessert, which Ratchett demolishes with frustration…
There are some fantastic sequences, namely a central set-piece where the train itself derails completely, with everybody falling out of their beds, as a lightening storm releases a giant avalanche…
Not everyone is well cast. Mary Debenham, the governess brilliantly played by Vanessa Redgrave before, is now played by Star Wars’s Daisy Ridley, - far too young to convince in the the role. Josh Gad, as Ratchett’s assistant McQueen, fails to capture that nervous energy that Psycho’s Norman Bates himself - Anthony Perkins, brought to the role.
The biggest miscast is Branagh himself, majorly over-egging the accent and mannerisms as Poirot - his performance is pure caricature.
Character names and professions have been changed. Sean Connery’s Colonel Arbuthnot from the original, is now a doctor. The car salesman, who was called Foscarelli, has now become the Spanish Mr. Marquez, played with fantastic, gregarious benevolence by Manuel Garcia-Rufo.
Stylish, and very entertaining.
Rating: * * * *
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