Another day and another remake to talk about. Today marks the release of the first trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s take on Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.
The film is based on Christie’s 1934 novel of the same name. This is also not the first time the film has been remade. The first adaptation was released in 1974. Sidney Lumet directed a stellar ensemble cast that featured Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, and Sean Connery to name a few. A made-for-TV remake starring Alfred Molina as the protagonist, Hercule Poirot, premiered in 2001.
This time around, Kenneth Branagh directs and stars as Poirot as he tries to solve a murder on a train. Thirteen others are on board the train that are all suspects.. Branagh assembled an impressive cast of his own with names like Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penelope Cruz, Daisy Ridley, Willem Dafoe, and Dame Judi Dench along for the ride.
The first trailer does a good job of setting up a mysterious, yet appealing, atmosphere for the film. It feels like it’s meant to be taken seriously but also boasts a sense of fun as brief descriptions of each passenger pop up. While there’s always some eye-rolling when films get numerous remakes, this one seems to be headed in the right direction. In recent years, Johnny Depp has been box office poison but it’s nice to see that he’s not the lead in this film at least.
Murder on the Orient Express is set for release on November 10th. Check out the first trailer and comment below.
[…] our write-up on the first trailer, we mentioned how Johnny Depp has been box office poison in recent years but, luckily, he’s […]