What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

Movies

Death on the Nile (2022)

Sometimes, you just want some silly fun, and that is exactly the attitude I went into Death on the Nile with. And, boy! did it deliver. Kenneth Branagh takes himself so seriously, and that usually makes his projects unexpectedly funny, and it’s delightful to see what he’s going to come up with next. As he reprises his role of the famous detective, I couldn’t help but be excited.

The film opens with a flashback to Poirot in the war as a young soldier, setting up his brilliance, his tragic backstory as well as his drive to become a detective. Personally, I felt that this sequence served very little purpose, and the people in the audience were audibly confused, wondering if they were in the right film. From there, we jump forward to see Poirot established as a famous detective, and are introduced to the cast of characters that we will eventually spend the rest of the film with.

Jackie (Emma Mackey) introduces her fiancé Simon (Armie Hammer) to her friend Linnet (Gal Gadot), and sadly for her, the two seem to hit it off. Cut to six weeks later, and Linnet has married Simon, who has left Jackie in the dust, and the couple are on their honeymoon trip in Egypt – with about 10 other people in tow. Sadly for them, Number 11 is Simon’s former fiancée-turned-stalker.

I want to stop over here for a moment to mention the casting, which could not have been less suited to the characters they were portraying. No one seemed to be on the same wavelength where the scale of their performance was concerned, with some deciding on subdued where others were camp. Branagh has always had trouble with creating a cohesive piece and this film struggles with the same issues.

Luckily for Poirot, this mishmash of people is excellent food for the brain, because when Linnet is found murdered, there are more than enough people for him to interrogate. However, it doesn’t just stop there. The film delivers a final body count of 5, truly living up to its name. And Poirot is there deducing every step of the way.

While the conclusion of the crime was a bit anti-climatic, what with the murderers killing themselves, it was fun trying to solve the crime alongside Poirot. I’ve always enjoyed a good mystery, and while I did guess the killer (or, at least, one of them), part of the thrill is in guessing and second-guessing yourself. At the end of the day, I was glad for good company and good fun while watching Death on the Nile.