Death on the Nile, rated PG-13
** ½

Death on the Nile is a disappointing film that takes far too long to get to the murder mystery. The film is directed by eight-time Oscar nominee Kenneth Branagh (Belfast, Henry V, My Week with Marilyn), who also stars in the film as the world’s greatest detective, Hercule Poirot. The screenplay, with many changes from the original Agatha Christie novel, was written by Oscar nominee Michael Green (Logan).  Branagh and Green had previously collaborated on Christie’s 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express.

After an unnecessary opening scene from World War I in 1914 designed to provide Poirot’s backstory, we see him in 1937 in a London nightclub where he sees blues singer Salome Otterbourne, played by Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), performing on stage. Continue reading →