During the DailyView, I looked for the 1978 version of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. I was interested in seeing that first film before the newest rendition of the film from Kenneth Branagh. However, I could not find the film on any streaming services or in any other format. It remains, to this day, on the DailyView to watch list.

In the end, I was very happy that I did not see the original or read the book that it was at first, because then I approached the 2022 film with a blank slate.

Death on the Nile had been delayed several times, for multiple reasons including the COVID-19 pandemic, but I found this movie to be well worth the wait.

Classic detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) was on vacation in Egypt when he comes upon a newly married couple who feel that they were in danger.

Keeping the story sparse, basically there is a murder on a boat on the Nile and Poirot has to solve the case among the group of suspects.

The married couple was played by Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer. They were both very good in their roles. Emma Mackey played Jacqueline de Bellefort, a spurned fiancé of Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer), who became a crazed stalker-type character and did it wonderfully.

There was a remarkably talented ensemble cast involved besides the actors I have already mentioned included Annette Bening, Letitia Wright, Sophie Okonedo, Tom Bateman, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Rose Leslie, and Susannah Fielding.

Besides the main case, we actually got a lot of background information on Poirot, including a shocking inclusion of an origin story for the Poirot mustache.

Kenneth Branagh was sensational as Hercule Poirot. He brought such an energy and a passion to the role that was obvious on the screen. His eyes were as expressive as I have seen and he brought more depth to Poirot than I expected. He was also the director of the film and he created a wonderful story with some amazing visuals.

Speaking of the visuals, the setting of Egypt was filled with such beauty and amazement that there were several scenes where the imagery of the landscapes were gorgeous. Now, admittedly, there were some scenes where the CGI/green screen stood out much more than you would have liked, but those moments were not the dominant amount of times and did not detract from the overall presentation.

The story dragged a little bit in the first part of the story, but once things started to cook, I truly enjoyed Death on the Nile.

4.1 stars