Let me start with a confession. I'm a huge fan of Agatha Christie's novels and the adaptations of her novels. Based on this confession most likely it's not a surprise that I've seen all the adaptations and know all the stories. My favorite is the Poirot series, with David Suchet and I don't think anyone could beat that. For me, Poirot will always mean David Suchet
However David Suchet is not the only one playing Poirot. Kenneth Branagh is the other actor playing Poirot, I've seen him in Murder on the Orient Express and even though he's never going to beat David Suchet, the movie was good, I liked it.
Yesterday I watched Death On The Nile, which was a surprise as I had no idea of this new version of Death On The Nile, so when I saw it last night on Netflix, knew right away I had to watch it, and I did.
Knowing what to expect is not an advantage, if you want to enjoy the movie and even though I recently stated, that an adaptation can deviate from the original story to some extent, which is Agatha Christie's novel in this case, but what we got here is more than just some deviations, but let's take it step by step.
Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's 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 Egyptian 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.
The beginning was a bit confusing as it's a war scene, featuring Poirot back in the 1st World War and there were details that did not match the image we have about him, created by David Soushet, but more about that later.
To be fair, they made sure to charm the viewers with the luxury, but the style we get here is a mix of those times and modern times. This was a bit frustrating for me. I'm not against mixing old times with modern, have seen it before, but when a story was written between 1936 and 1937, you'd expect some boundaries in this regard.
One of the bravest change in this regard and most shocking as well was seeing an electric guitar. I asked AI when the electric guitar was invented and I learnt that it was in 1931, however, mass production started in the 50's. I've seen plenty of movies and series from those times, I mean before the 2nd World War, but have never seen an electric guitar in any of them. It was a bit too much for me.
The cast was great by the way. Seeing Armie Hammer among the actors was a nice surprise, I must admit. I'm a huge fan of the actor, but haven't seen him in ages. I guess the last movie with him was The Man from U.N.C.L.E., which was more than ten years ago and I loved it.
However, not even the cast could could repair or compensate what the writers did. Changing the characters, key details is a huge no for me and this is where I say stop to deviations. There are details you can change and there are some, that are sacred, but obviously the writers thought otherwise.
What was shocking here was that you see a totally different Poirot in this movie. It's not just the look of the actor, the character was changed as well. David Suchet's Poirot is well known for his pedantry, elegance, adherence to etiquette and most of all, his reliance on his famous "little grey cells", yet here you see Poirot running and losing control at times.
I'm not going to lie, I am disappointed and don't understand the logic behind it, why was all this necessary. The original series was a huge success, so I understand the pressure such a movie brings, as you need to create something better, if you want to succeed, but this is not the way.
I'm still going to give it 60/100, because the scenes, venues were marvelous, the music was really good, the acting and the cast as well, but some things I can't forgive.
Would I watch the other parts of this series? Of course I would and I will, but that doesn't mean I can accept everything the writers thought would make the movie beat the David Suchet version. Not in this lifetime.
Rating: 60/100
