Death On The Nile [2022]

Politics obviously got in the way of Death On The Nile. However, the movie kept some of the charm from the first installment and went flat in other areas.

Stating the obvious, Death on the Nile‘s pacing isn’t perfect, but this all-star mystery has a great cast and plenty of entertaining twists. The movie just takes a lot of time setting up the boat trip, and not enough time exploring the different deaths happening (pun intended). And it’s not entirely the movie’s fault.

When your main star is involved in a scandal, it’s hard to work around him, especially when he’s the main star of the show, and the movie basically finished filming over two years ago (thanks covid).

Similar to the first movie if not better, Kenneth Branagh did great as the renowned detective Hercule Poirot. In addition, Gal Gadot also did her best to carry the newly edited movie. However, in his effort to work around Armie Hammer‘s scenes and limit them, director Kenneth Branagh ended up with some awkward camera movements, scene cuts, and buildups that went nowhere. The main example would be the first scene where Simon Doyle (Hammer) meets Linnet Ridgeway (Gadot). It was one of the most underwhelming scenes I’ve seen.

The end result is a mildly entertaining diversion and nothing more. Cinematography is great, but you can easily notice the CGI and the weird lighting, especially on the boat. And to keep things in Poirot’s vernacular: a pattern has been established, and it doesn’t look good.

Should you watch it?

Death On The Nile will keep you mostly engaged, especially in its second half. Plus, the pacing of the travel bleeds into the narrative. A bit slow, but still fun.

Where can I watch it?

Death On The Nile is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.