I’ve long since reached a point in my life when the prospect of the latest Johnny Depp movie fills me with more trepidation than excitement. The one time unassailable actor has slipped into an increasingly bizarre string of characters that serve to warn even casual movie-goers that “here there be dragons.” From Tonto to the Mad Hatter to the increasingly tiresome antics of Jack Sparrow, the poor guy just can’t seem to catch a break.
If the first trailer for Murder on the Orient Express is to be believed, however, all that is about to change. The murder mystery based on the classic Agatha Christie novel looks to be the kind of madcap thriller to revitalize Depp’s flailing career: with a large enough cast to keep the focus just off-center of Depp’s suspected murderer, where the character actor has always worked best.
The setup is as simple as they come. While on route from Turkey to London, one of the Simplon-Orient Express’ passengers is murdered. Nobody witnessed the murder and everybody on board is a suspect. Fortunately, Hercule Poirot, the world’s greatest detective, is on board, and sets out to solve the mystery before the train reaches its destination.
The film is an all-star production that is bound to be worth watching if only for its lengthy A-list cast. In addition to Depp, the film features the talents of esteemed actors Kenneth Branagh, Peleope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer and Star Wars‘ own Daisy Ridley. The script is penned by Michael Green, whose busy year also include Logan, Alien: Covenant and Blade Runner 2049. The film is directed by Branagh and reunites him with longtime musical collaborator Patrick Doyle.
What I didn’t expect from this first look into the film was just how energetic the whole thing seemed to be. We’ve become trained to expect “period murder mystery” to be a rather dry affair: drawn out, distant and calculated down to the smallest detail. And while Detective Poirot does fit that bill, the tone of the overall piece is something entirely more modern: with a certain swagger that you don’t often see from adaptations of classic literature.
Upon first hearing about the adaptation, I was struck with an insurmountable sense of ennui. Between its massive cast and old-fashioned source material, I expected a fun little caper, but nothing to rush out and see. If we can expect more of what we saw in this trailer from it, though, it might just be worth the trip to the movie theater.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Mq4m3yAoW8E%22+frameborder%3D%220%22+allow%3D%22accelerometer%3B+encrypted-media%3B+gyroscope%3B+picture-in-picture%22+allowfullscreen%3E%3C
