I was looking forward to Death on the Nile, after it was announced shortly after Murder on the Orient Express came out. I read the books and I enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express. Death on the Nile had some bumps leading up to its release. First of all, it was supposed to come out earlier than it did. Due to the pandemic, it kept getting delayed and was finally released in February 2022. Another thing that had hindered the movie before release was all the trouble Armie Hammer had gotten into. Rumors were swirling around about reshooting portions of the movie to limit his screentime or to remove him from the film. It is a Fox production inherited by Disney since Disney now owns Fox. Death on the Nile finally came out and did not find the same success that Murder on the Orient Express did. Death on the Nile made 45 million domestically and 137 million worldwide. Murder on the Orient Express cane out November 2017 and made 102 million domestically and 352 million worldwide. Because of the delays for Death on the Nile, by the time it was released it was already about a five year gap since the last one. To be exact it would be a little over four years. Despite this, there is another film coming out with Kenneth Branagh once again as Hercule Poirot in A Haunting in Venice due to be released this fall.

I enjoyed Death on the Nile. I read the book awhile back, so I don’t really remember what happened in it. To be honest I think that helped while watching the movie. I was surprised by some of the twists and turns. Sometimes when I read books and if the film follows the books closely, it is not really a surprise since I already am expecting what is going to happen next. Things did not go the way I was thinking, and I enjoyed that about the film. It has a great setting and a great cast. It already has a strong plot since it is based on an Agatha Christie novel. Kenneth Branagh does a great job as Hercule Poirot. Murder mysteries are only as strong as the detective solving the murder and Hercule Poirot is enjoyable to watch. Since this is a part of a series, most installments will have entirely new characters except for the detective. This film has two returning characters. Hercule Poirot as well as Tom Bateman who reprises his role as Bouc from Murder on the Orient Express. Another thing I enjoy about this series is the tone. I saw Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery a few months ago when it had a limited engagement in theaters and enjoyed that a lot. That was more comedic. This series is more of a classic murder mystery with more of a serious tone and that is what makes this film enjoyable. Another thing I liked about it as well as Murder on the Orient Express is the films focus more on the characters and has a classic feel to them while Poirot is trying to solve the murders. The action is small compared to more modern films where there are big action sequences or the use of advanced technology. This is simplistic but is done with class. A lot of times, doing a film or television show like this could get boring. The way these two films are done manages to keep the attention the whole time and is able to pull the audience in to the story.

Minor spoilers ahead.

Armie Hammer and Gal Gadot play a married couple who are at the center of the crime. I won’t spoil things here, but I will say one thing that did surprise me is how involved Armie Hammer was in the movie. I went into the movie thinking he was not going to have that much screentime especially after his scandals. He has a fairly substantial role in the movie. That was one of many surprises for me in the film. This would probably be the only surprise that was not necessarily related to the plot. I figured he would have been edited out of a fair amount but to be honest I also thought his character was going to be the one who gets killed off. I will say that is not the case. He is very much alive once the investigation starts. Regardless of outside drama, Armie Hammer and Gal Gadot do a good job in their roles and have pretty good chemistry as husband and wife. Gal Gadot is best known as Wonder Woman in the DC Universe. She also was in the Fast and the Furious movies but she was more of a supporting character in that franchise. Gal Gadot does a good job, and it is nice to see her in more projects and projects with variety. A lot of her roles currently stem from the action genre. She costarred in Red Notice with Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds which is another action movie. Armie Hammer is known for many projects including The Social Network and Mirror Mirror. Obviously his recent scandals have been the main focus and it will probably be a long time until he gets another project if he is even able to get a second career. This could potentially be his last role. It doesn’t set the world on fire, and this is not going to get him an Oscar, but he does a solid job. Just like Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile has an all-star cast including Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Letitia Wright, Sophie Okonedo, Rose Leslie, Dawn French, & Jennifer Saunders. Everyone does a good job in their roles.

Death on the Nile is a solid murder mystery that is full of twists and turns and has a beautiful setting. It also has a great ensemble. I do not know why the movie did not perform better. There could be many reasons. People may not have been that interested in it since it was supposed to come out December 2019. Another factor could also be that Armie Hammer is still in the movie. He also filmed this movie before his scandals. Audiences may not have been aware the movie was coming out. It did not seem to have the same type of marketing that Murder on the Orient Express did. Regardless, this is still a solid murder mystery and I am looking forward to the next Hercule Poirot adventure.