Death on the Nile (2022)

I have to say that I continue to be disappointed by Kenneth Branagh's adaption of the classic Agatha Christie character Hercule Poirot. The reason is two-fold. First, his depiction of Henning Mankell's Wallander is so pitch perfect. He clearly got inside the character's head and did a beautiful job in the setting and staging of the series. Secondly, he can make an excellent film--his retelling of his childhood in Belfast in the movie of the same name is just beautiful. So what goes wrong here? There are excellent actors here--Gal Gadot, Annette Benning, Arnie Hammer, and Branagh himself, but everyone comes off in a wooden and unnatural way from start to finish, much in the same way that Murder on the Orient Express felt. The reason I liked this better is because I loved my trip to Egypt and some of the iconic places we visited are depicted, and the memories are strong and pleasant for me. It is also a one and done place for me, and so lovely to be able to revisit it in another way, but as a murder mystery it falls flat, and is probably worse even if you are not a fan of the genre.