I've always enjoyed Agatha Christie stories, especially those featuring Hercule Poirot. When another adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express appeared, I had some reservations. After all, the version with David Suchet was flawless. My worries proved justified. This feels like one of those remakes that leaves you wondering… why? It’s not a terrible film overall, but as a Hercule Poirot movie, and especially considering it's "Murder on the Orient Express," it’s disappointing. It’s like buying a cut of high-quality beef only to find out you got chicken drumsticks instead. You can eat it, sure, but that’s not what you paid for. To me, this seemed like an obvious attempt to create an Americanized version of Hercule Poirot. The script and direction were poorly handled, and it felt disrespectful to the original character. The movie begins by portraying Hercule as his usual fussy, eccentric self, but the effort falls flat and seems silly. Besides making him look unpleasant, these people supposedly know him, so why would they serve two eggs of different sizes? Oh right, because the director apparently thought the audience was too unintelligent to notice that detail. There are also things Hercule simply wouldn’t do. Like walking on train car roofs, scrambling around, and chasing criminals like an action hero. He even gets shot and just brushes it off! And don't even mention that ridiculous mustache! It’s another example of this Americanized take on Hercule Poirot. Bigger isn't always better, though. I could continue criticizing for quite a while, so let's move on. Technically, the movie isn’t bad at all. The visuals, the set design, and the acting are generally good. However, these positives were constantly overshadowed by how badly they mishandled the Hercule Poirot character. This is likely because the film focuses so heavily on Hercule that the other actors almost feel like… background scenery, even though they’re doing a decent job with their parts. One critic noted that “The actors seem to have been invited, not to play characters, but to watch Kenneth Branagh act,” and there's some truth to that observation. The movie concludes with an implication of more installments to come. Personally, I hope this series doesn’t continue down this disastrous path (no pun intended).

Source on TMDB