The trailer for Murder on the Orient Express dropped on June 1. All I have to say is: “Wow.” There are a lot of famous people: Willem Dafoe, Sir Kenneth Branaugh, Daisy Ridley, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dame Judi Dench, and even Leslie Odom Jr. and Josh Gad. It’s based on the classic Agatha Christie novel, which I remember reading when I was in sixth grade. That was much longer ago than I’m willing to admit.
A luxury train named “The Orient Express”, which winds up getting stuck in the snowy mountains, is where everything takes place. Since these are the 1900’s, there are no cell phones… though they probably wouldn’t get any bars. The big question on everybody’s mind… well, MY mind, at least, is “Does Depp’s character die in a very painful fashion?” Given that we see him looking at a woman coming down a hall with the most lecherous grin makes him a prime candidate for death. Also, he’s not one of the people sitting in the dining area that Hercule Poirot walks through.
My skepticism about Gad playing a dramatic role might be because my son has watched Angry Birds Movie about 80 times…. and that’s a mild exaggeration. In fact, Gad’s character might be the killer – he’s good at playing people/birds with anger management issues. Will today’s generation warm up to an Agatha Christie novel set on-screen? Nostalgia for times like the 1980’s is one thing. They might go just to see if Ridley’s character is secretly a Jedi.
At the end, Branaugh’s Poirot says, “My name is Hercule Poirot and I am the world’s greatest detective.” I half-expected Robert Downey Jr. or Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes to leap from the top of the train and punch him while bellowing,”I BEG TO DIFFER!” Maybe that will be in the sequel: Murder on the Orient Express 2: Murder Boogaloo.