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| Kenneth Branagh directs and stars in Death on the Nile |
Three Cheers and a Tiger
Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short. Set against an epic landscape of sweeping desert vistas and the majestic Giza pyramids, this tale of unbridled passion and incapacitating jealousy features a cosmopolitan group of impeccably dressed travelers, and enough wicked twists and turns to leave audiences guessing until the final, shocking denouement. Directed by Kenneth Branagh.
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, and Letitia Wright.
What's Good: Branagh and company (cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos, et al.) improve upon 2017's Murder on the Orient Express, meshing together an often dazzling array of characters, dirty dancing and exotic locales into one of this year's (early) best films. The acting is first rate, and the 2+ hour runtime flies by. I can't wait to see what's next: Perhaps Evil under the Sun?
What's Not: As with most murder mysteries, Death on the Nile tries a bit too hard to make everyone a suspect. That's more of an indictment against the genre, but it's still a bit irksome. Other than that...
Budget: $90 million
Runtime: 127 minutes
