Murder On The Orient Express Spoiler-Free Review

In the world of Hollywood reboots, this film is certainly not something that we expected, but is this new release a pleasant surprise or just a waste of time?

Based on the classic novel by Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express tells the tale of legendary detective, Hercule Poirot, as he discovers an unexpected murder on what seems to be a normal train trip. With all of his fellow passengers being suspects, Poirot does his best to deduce who is the murderer on the orient express.

Let’s start with the best element of this movie, the visuals and cinematography. The way that the environments are filmed are simply spectacular. The effects of heavy snow and sunbeams are mesmerizing. The camera work inside the tight spaces of the train do a terrific job of reducing claustrophobia. The film is just as beautiful from the inside of the train as it is from the outside. Each train car has varied interior designs allowing the audience to navigate the scenes easily.

Another thing that Murder on the Orient Express gets right is it’s presentation of characters. It presents plenty of different personalities that make each character unique in their own way. These great personalities are matched with wonderful acting. Each performance, no matter big or small, comes off as totally genuine. I couldn’t think of any moments during the movie where the acting seemed off.

Now let’s get into what severely limits Murder on the Orient Express. While, for the most part, the plot is pretty solid and has a fun twist, the tone of the movie is all over the place. I just don’t know what kind of movie they were aiming to make. I don’t know if this is a gritty thriller or a dark comedy. There were some scenes where a joke was immediately followed by a serious and dramatic moment. The only thing worse than the tone was the dialogue. This movie has some of the worst dialogue I’ve seen in a long time. A huge chunk of the interactions don’t feel natural at all. In fact, some lines came so far out of nowhere, that they were funnier than the actual jokes in the movie. It’s a real shame because this poorly written dialogue does not work well with these performances at all. My friend and I kept leaning to each other and whispering “who talks like this?”

So should you see this movie? Well, if you can overlook the hilariously awful dialogue and the constantly shifting tone, Murder on the Orient Express is actually a fun film with a well structured plot, believable performances, and amazing visuals.

6.8/10

For more movie news and reviews, follow Geek Motivation on Twitter.