Death on the Nile

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: February 11, 2022

5.5	USER SCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 200 Ratings

USER RATING DISTRIBUTION

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Watch Now

Stream On

Expand

Review this movie

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please sign in or create an account before writing a review.

Check box if your review contains spoilers

0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

KlebartFeb 18, 2022

Absolutely boring. Nothing happens for almost an hour into it and by this time you really don't care.

5 of 5 users found this helpful50

All this user's reviews

DexEngineerApr 9, 2022

Boring, boring, boring... then completely unreal what makes it laughable & again boring. There is one great thing... amazing job of lighting team. The rest is garbage.

4 of 4 users found this helpful40

All this user's reviews

max1cMar 27, 2022

Just another hollywood blackwashed, gaywashed, Agatha Christie story ruined. Save yourself some time and read the novel.

4 of 4 users found this helpful40

All this user's reviews

fingermouseFeb 18, 2022

If you're a fan of Agatha Christie and Poirot in particular, do not see this movie. If you've read the book, do not see this movie. If you're clueless about the characters and plot of Death on the Nile then you might enjoy some parts of itIf you're a fan of Agatha Christie and Poirot in particular, do not see this movie. If you've read the book, do not see this movie. If you're clueless about the characters and plot of Death on the Nile then you might enjoy some parts of it for what it is, but that's a big 'might'.

The film starts with an entirely unnecessary WW1 backstory of Poirot's moustache. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed that anybody would have thought it useful to invent one (Agatha Christie certainly didn't). During this, somebody talks about Poirot being a farmer, which would have surprised Christie who only ever wrote that he was a policeman before becoming a detective.

From this point, it skips forward to a scene where Poirot is listening to famous romance author Mrs Otterbourne singing in a bar. Oh, wait... famous author? No, in this version, Mrs Otterbourne is a blues guitarist (with comically long guitar lead) and singer. Of course she is. Poirot witnesses the main characters meeting, clearly in an effort to avoid having to film any backstory for that relationship (obviously moustache exposition is more important).

From here we jump forwards again to an unconvincing CGI Egypt, and things go downhill from there. The storyline is hideously mangled into something unrecognisable, and the pacing is literally all over the place. One minute the camera is wildly swinging in circles, the next minute it's panning slowly over people equally spaced along a railing (obviously supposed to be very stylish). Then we're flying high above a CGI boat before swooping down to spend an eternity in conversations that go nowhere, and we eventually find ourselves in a fast-moving gun battle. Yes, there is a chase and a gunfight.

The acting is unremarkable, although stand-outs are French and Saunders who manage their parts (or what's left of their parts) very well, and Russell Brand who plays Lord Windlesham. Anybody who's read the book will wonder why Lord Windlesham is on the boat rather than being a minor character who goes nowhere near Egypt. The answer is that in this version, he's required to fill the place of several other characters who are completely missing, notably Dr Bessner, Tim Allerton, Mr Ferguson, James Fanthorp... the list goes on. Some exclusions I could understand — every filmed version has cut at least *somebody*, but you can't remove characters like Dr Bessner and Cornelia Robson without seriously changing the story. For some reason, Bouc (who is not even supposed to be in Death on the Nile) takes a large part in this version and takes the place of Colonel Race (who is also clearly too busy to be in this film) investigating with Poirot. Additionally, he takes the place of somebody else during a vitally important scene, but at least he thought to bring his mother with him (which, again, would have surprised Agatha Christie as she never wrote about Bouc's mother).

Gal Gadot as Linnet either can't act or had no interest whatsoever in this film. Branagh takes turns being hostile and terminally boring as Poirot, and it never feels like he's really investigating anything. Nobody is ever asked where they were or what they were doing during each murder, instead they're interviewed about their feelings about love. It genuinely feels like Poirot is hosting his own chat show most of the time, with an occasional break for some gunplay or slamming of doors.

The least Branagh could have done would be to have gone on location and made the surroundings believable. That's half the film right there. Instead, we're treated to CGI, matte paintings and a completely impractical and unrealistic boat staffed (it seems) by white female deckhands wearing shorts (who only turn up to carry the body when somebody dies). Nobody seems to be waiting on anybody (although there's nowhere to eat anyway) and the world seems to be completely empty apart from the few characters (far too few) on the boat.

How is it possible to screw up such a great book so badly? Why have we waited for this mess for so long? Please do avoid this film at all costs.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

All this user's reviews

VikingdawnMar 30, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Once again, including the music, producers are patronizing black people. This is Agatha Christie, history. Why patronize black people.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

All this user's reviews

Capncart10Apr 10, 2022

I'll give it a two because the cinematography is nice. Otherwise it takes a great Agatha Christie novel, puts it into a stew of woke patronizing garbage, mixes it up and spits it out. A boring performance from all of the actors. Thumbs down.

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

All this user's reviews

Pearlsb4swineMar 29, 2022

Having thoroughly enjoyed “Murder on the Orient Express”, my wife and I were hard pressed to believe that “Death on the Nile”was written or directed by the same person. This film carries itself with none of the class present in “Orient”.Having thoroughly enjoyed “Murder on the Orient Express”, my wife and I were hard pressed to believe that “Death on the Nile”was written or directed by the same person. This film carries itself with none of the class present in “Orient”. “Dirty Dancing” has nothing on the, err,”dancing” scenes that establish the love triangle around which the film revolves. If you have kids under 18, you don’t want them watching this film. Character development is razor thin on all points. Sure, we learn of Poirot’s past and scars(both literal and emotional), but his character has none of the charm present in “Orient”. He, like this movie, is a mere shell of his former self. Armie Hammer’s recent scandal ostensibly prevented the further exploration of his, the pivotal character’s role in what should have been a thrilling “whodoneit”. The film is overblown, overstuffed, shallow, vulgar, and largely unsatisfying. One wonders if it’s very release constituted nothing more than damage control and paying lip service to delivering a franchise-worthy film.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

All this user's reviews

imthenoobMay 18, 2022

Love the character Poirot and I enjoyed the first film quite a bit, This one not so much. Wooden performances, Sloppy editing, and a pointless backstory for Poirot that felt tacked on and needless. Death On The Nile makes you feel everyLove the character Poirot and I enjoyed the first film quite a bit, This one not so much. Wooden performances, Sloppy editing, and a pointless backstory for Poirot that felt tacked on and needless. Death On The Nile makes you feel every minute of its painfully long runtime. It is dreadfully boring and a total waste of the stacked cast.… Expand