Rated PG-13 for violence, some bloody images, and sexual material.
World-renowned detective Hercules Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is on vacation along the Nile in Egypt, hoping to avoid any new cases. His relaxation, however, is derailed when he runs into his friend Bouc (Tom Bateman), who pulls him into the honeymoon celebration of Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) and Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer). Reluctantly, Poirot accepts the invitation to join their party. In reality, Linnet and Simon want Poirot to do something about Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackie), Simon’s former fiancée who has been stalking them with a jealous rage. Fearing retaliation, they attempt to continue their trip on a cruise ship named the Karnak. Unfortunately, the vacation is ruined when one of the group turns up dead. Poirot is the only one who can untangle this web of lies and jealousies and find the real killer. After taking on the classic story Murder on the Orient Express, Kenneth Branagh is back to put his stamp on another Agatha Christie murder mystery. Personally, I was a big fan of what he did with his previous Christie adaptation. The film’s production design and visuals, along with his directing made for a delightfully old-fashioned thriller. I was very excited to see what he would do with another go at the character. Thankfully, his adaptation of Death on the Nile managed to live up to the high bar set by Murder on the Orient Express. Once again, Branagh delivers an adaptation that stays true to the thriller aspects of Christie’s original novel. Under any other director, they probably would’ve turned it into a generic, set piece-driven action film. It’s clear that Branagh has nothing but respect for the Poirot character and Christie’s stories. His particular take on Hercule Poirot is one of the biggest highlights of this burgeoning film series. It’s so different from other portrayals of the character. He plays him as a rather stoic man who accepts nothing but the truth from his suspects. But he also plays him with a playful self-awareness that pokes fun at the character without ever feeling like he’s just making fun of him. It gives him an irresistible charm that makes him a compelling protagonist. Also, like the previous film, Branagh assembles a perfect supporting ensemble. Everyone in the cast portray their characters in ways that make everyone feel like a suspect rather than obvious red herrings. The highlights of the cast are definitely Emma Mackey, Armie Hammer, and Russell Brand. Mackey, in particular, plays Jacqueline like a bottle of jealous rage ready to explode. She nails the wild range of emotions she’s forced to go through for the story. While the cast brings the characters to life, Branagh brings the world around them to life as well. The production design and visual effects give the film a sense of grandeur, like walking into a massive, historical cathedral. Almost every shot feels like a painting in a museum, especially one shot of the Karnak against the night sky. It’s almost too beautiful, especially when seeing it on an IMAX screen. Branagh also continues to use his directing style to build the mystery. It’s his hand behind the camera that also add to the overall opulent feeling. He utilizes a number of one-take tracking shots that make the world feel truly alive, taking us through multiple perspectives without ever cutting. He does an amazing job really immersing the audience in the world, and as a result, gets us fully invested in the mystery. Death on the Nile is another successful outing for actor/director Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot, handling Agatha Christie’s classic character with nuance and respect. His unique portrayal of the detective, along with his expert direction, make this feel like so much more than just a run-of-the-mill adaptation of a well-known mystery novel. Hopefully this movie does well enough to get a third film, because I’m fully on board with a new Hercules Poirot series with Branagh behind the wheel.
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Rated PG-13 for violence, disaster action, strong language, and some drug use.
Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) was once a celebrated astronaut. But an accident during a mission caused the death of one of his fellow astronauts. Brian claims that a strange, black swarm caused the incident, but no one believes him. Not even his partner Jo Fowler (Halle Berry) supported his claim. This caused his reputation to sour and his life to fall apart. Now, 10 years after the attack, things are about to get a lot worse. For reasons unknown, the Moon has fallen out of orbit and is heading towards Earth, threatening to bring an end to all life. With time running out, Jo has a plan to save the planet, and only Brian and a conspiracy theorists named K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) can help her. Their mission will reveal that the Moon is much more than we ever thought it was. At this point, we all know what to expect from director Roland Emmerich. With films like Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012, he’s established himself as a purveyor of big, dumb disaster flicks. They’re not the most well written, and he puts hardly any effort into developing characters. However, he makes up for that with spectacular action scenes that destroy portions of the planet in exciting ways. After taking a break from disaster movies to make more serious films like Anonymous and Midway, he has returned to the global destruction he knows all too well with Moonfall. For better or worse, the story of Moonfall kind of feels like a mash-up of Independence Day and 2012. It’s a story involving aliens causing a disaster that will wipe out the planet, in destruction scenes similar to the latter film. And yeah, just like those films, this one is pretty stupid and completely improbable. The moon falling out of orbit is scientifically impossible, but if it did happen, the ensuing events might be different from what happens here. The story also grows increasingly over-the-top as the bigger mysteries start to unfold. The big twist of the movie is something so out of left field that it’s easy to see why some people are off-put by it. But the film is far from being a total disaster. Emmerich once again makes up for the thin story and characters with some really exciting action sequences. For being produced as an independent film, he manages to put a lot of great detail into the action and destruction scenes. There’s always been something so satisfying about the amount of detail he puts into destroying the planet, and this movie is no different. Personally, I actually like the incredibly bonkers direction that the story took. As more secrets about the moon began to unravel, I found myself itching to know what the whole truth was. For me, I think the movie just went so over-the-top that I didn’t mind seeing it try to go even further than that. It helps that the central cast holds all this insanity together. Berry, Wilson, and Bradley seem to be aware of how crazy their situation is, but never to the point that it becomes a full-on comedy. They’re able to carry the movie and make their mission to save the Earth enjoyable. Without a good cast, this movie wouldn’t have been able to sell its implausibility. But the trio are able to make it work. Moonfall is completely bonkers in every way, but thanks to Roland Emmerich’s trademark destruction, it’s an enjoyable kind of bonkers. He once again makes up for a lack of characters and story with some great action scenes that make it a blast to watch. It’s not the most original disaster film, but I highly recommend seeing this in a theater. Big movies like this can only be properly experienced on a big screen. |