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Dir: Kenneth Branagh (12A 120 mins)
Kenneth Branagh leads an all-star cast in this adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic whodunnit set on board the aforementioned choo-choo. Sporting an outrageous moustache and accent, Branagh, who also directs, is Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot, tasked with finding a murderer aboard the locomotive. 13 suspects in a snowed-in claustrophobic space with another murder on the cards at any time. And what a list of suspects, Johnny Depp is the gangster victim, but everyone has a motive for killing him; there’s Daisy Ridley’s governess, Willem Dafoe’s professor, Derek Jacobi’s butler, Judi Dench’s princess, Penelope Cruz’s missionary and Michelle Pfeiffer’s widow, alongside Josh Gadd, Leslie Odom Jr. and Olivia Colman. It’s a glossy, starry old-fashioned slice of hokum lent big-budget trappings that David Suchet could only dream of. The story has been tweaked so that there should be surprises along the way for anyone who may have seen a version of the Christie potboiler before, with many thesps clearly having a ball with the source material. Destined to be a Christmas Day film on TV, this is nevertheless entertaining well executed murder mystery fare…now, you may be wondering why I ‘ave gathered you all ‘ere…
Opens November 2