Murder on the Orient Express

It seems like I have been waiting forever for Murder on the Orient Express to be released!  The wait was finally over last night because I went to an early Thursday preview with my family and boy did I love it!  I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie.  I have read every one of her mysteries multiple times and Murder on the Orient Express is a particular favorite because of the clever plot twist.  Kenneth Branagh's version is stylish and entertaining but it also adds a bit of poignancy that the other versions lack.  Hercule Poirot (Branagh) boards the Orient Express in Istanbul hoping for a few days of rest and relaxation.  However, one of the passengers, Samuel Ratchett (Johnny Depp), is stabbed to death just as the train is derailed during an avalanche.  Poirot is enlisted to solve the crime by his friend Bouc (Tom Bateman) before the murderer can strike again while the train is stranded.  Everyone, it seems, is a suspect:  Ratchett's assistant Hector MacQueen (Josh Gad), Princess Dragomiroff (Judi Dench) and her companion Hildegarde Schmidt (Olivia Colman), an American named Caroline Hubbard (Michelle Pfeiffer), the missionary Pilar Estravados (Penelope Cruz), Dr. Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom, Jr.), a governess named Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley),  Professor Gerhard Hardman (Willem Dafoe), Ratchett's valet Edward Masterman (Derek Jacobi), Biniamino Marquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and the Count and Countess Andrenyi (Lucy Boynton and Sergei Polunin).  I really enjoyed the all-star cast, especially Pfeiffer who has an incredibly affecting scene and I can think of no one better to play an imperious princess than Dame Judi Dench.  They all have their moment to shine as they are interrogated one by one.  Branagh's iteration of the famous Belgian sleuth is a bit more emotional and tormented than the ones I've seen before and I actually really liked his portrayal (although his accent was a bit affected).  I also liked the claustrophobia of the sumptuous train cars juxtaposed with wide sweeping shots of the train traveling through the snow covered mountains.  Since I've read the book countless times and seen several versions, my enjoyment was not derived from trying to figure out "whodunnit" but from seeing a classic tale told in a new and surprising way.  I loved this movie and I would definitely recommend it!

Note:  The ending implied that Poirot's next case would be in Egypt.  Dare we hope that Death on the Nile will be next?