Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian 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.
Kenneth Branagh's second Poirot outing is a competent but bloated adaptation of Agatha Christie's beloved novel. The plot follows the source material faithfully enough but suffers from an overlong setup and a sluggish middle act before the mystery mechanics kick in. The acting is uneven — Branagh's Poirot remains a divisive interpretation, and much of the ensemble cast feels underutilized or miscast, with emotional beats falling flat. Cinematography offers some visually striking Egyptian vistas and period production design, though an over-reliance on obvious digital backdrops undercuts the authenticity. As a remake of the 1978 film and a follow-up to Murder on the Orient Express (2017), novelty is minimal — it retreads familiar Christie territory with no distinctive new voice. The ending, while faithful to the source, lands without sufficient dramatic impact, weighed down by an unnecessary romantic subplot grafted onto Poirot's backstory that dilutes the mystery's resolution.