With 66 published novels, Agatha Christie is one of the Olympus of crime writers. Her works have been made into films many times. Since 2017 they have been enjoying a new film series about the cunning private detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh). The first two whodunits to puzzle along, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, are on TV today.
Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express on TV: Two exciting crime thrillers to keep you guessing
The crime marathon starts with the second film, which flickers on cinema screens in 2022. In Death on the Nile, Poirot once again plunges into a tricky murder case that takes place in the closed setting of a paddle steamer. Wealthy Linnet Ridgeway-Doyle (Gal Gadot) was on her honeymoon before she was innocently murdered in her sleep. There are several possible suspects and everyone seems to be hiding something.
This is followed by the first film in the series, Murder on the Orient Express. Here we find ourselves in an enclosed space again, this time on a train traveling through a snow-covered landscape. Poirot has to solve the murder of the American Mr. Ratchett (Johnny Depp) and begins the investigation. The suspects are played by a fantastic castthe top actors include Judi Dench, Olivia Colman, Willem Dafoe, Penélope Cruz and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Surprise hit turns into entertaining CGI trash
Kenneth Branagh, who also directed, had a surprise box office success with Murder on the Orient Express. The timeless crime thriller, peppered with a star cast, grossed a whopping $351 million against a budget of $55 million. The budget for the successor was almost doubled, but this didn’t pay off. Both Murder on the Nile and the third part, A Haunting in Venice, only grossed around 120 million. This could be due to the excessive effects.
Sometimes less is more, especially in a crime thriller whose well-developed story and characters could speak for themselves. There’s no need for all the CGI effects. When I went to the cinema to see Murder on the Orient Express, I was the first to go Computer-animated exterior shots elicit laughter from the audiencethey seemed so out of place in their failed portrayal.
However, Branagh has not learned from the criticism and also relies on an exuberant CGI spectacle in Death on the Nile. Our editor-in-chief Jenny Jecke writes in her film review: “But the entertainment factor of this film never suffers from this. On the contrary. With Death on the Nile has Kenneth Branagh delicious high-gloss trash rotated.” And in the end there is still a mystery to be solved, the solution of which never ceases to amaze.
When will the Agatha Christie films Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express be on TV?
You can see the murder in Egypt on today, Sunday, January 12, 2025 at 8:15 p.m. on Sat.1. Thereafter The aim is to solve the puzzle on the snow-covered train tracks, at 10:50 p.m.
They take place immediately afterwards Repeats in the same order: Death on the Nile will air on the night of January 13, 2025 at 1:05 a.m. and Murder on the Orient Express at 3:10 a.m. If you missed the films, you can stream the entire series on Disney+ and part 1 on Prime.
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