Murder On The Orient Express Review: 6 Ups & 6 Downs

Ups...

6. Kenneth Branagh's Hammy Performance

Kenneth Branagh is clearly having a ton of fun playing Poirot, and while his wildly hammy performance, complete with a ludicrously over-the-top accent and cartoonish moustache, might be too much for some, it does represent the movie's best attempt at mining the campy throwback appeal of Christie's novel.

Branagh appears in practically every scene and does a fine job keeping things chugging (sorry) along, even if he's ultimately only able to elevate things so much.

Still, his performance is one of the film's few calculations that works throughout, and if a series of Branagh-starring Poirit movies is to follow, at least the figure at the centre is going to be a lot of fun.