Agatha Christie is known as the Queen of Mystery and Queen of Crime thanks to her multiple murder mystery novels, many of which have received multiple adaptations. And Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of one of the best Agatha Christie mysteries, featuring the iconic Hercule Poirot, is heading to a new streaming home.
The 2017 movie adaptation Murder on the Orient Express will be available to stream on HBO Max on August 1 in the United States. The film, starring Kenneth Branagh as the beloved Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, features a star-studded ensemble cast. The murder mystery was a box office hit, grossing $353 million against a $55 million budget.
What Is Murder on the Orient Express About?
Murder on the Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s most popular novels. The story follows her beloved detective Hercule Poirot as he travels to London on the Simplon-route Orient Express. But as it often happens with Poirot, crime interrupts his free time. This time, a passenger from the train is found murdered in his compartment.
What sets Poirot’s little grey cells in motion is that the victim, Mr. Ratchett, had asked for Poirot’s help before his death. Ratchett told the detective that he had received death threats, but Poirot originally denied his assistance. Now, all the passengers on Ratchett’s side of the train are suspects, and Poirot sets out to find the killer.
Murder on the Orient Express was first published on January 1st, 1934. Since then, the Agatha Christie murder mystery received multiple adaptations, including a big-screen adaptation in 1974, starring Albert Finney as Poirot, and a made-for-TV movie in 2001 starring Alfred Molina as the Belgian detective. The 2017 adaptation boasts a star-studded cast, with Kenneth Branagh starring and directing.
Alongside Branagh, 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express starred Johnny Depp as Edward Ratchett, the victim in this murder mystery. The film also starred Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Marwan Kenzari, Olivia Colman, Lucy Boynton, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Sergei Polunin, and Tom Bateman.
Murder on the Orient Express Received Mixed Reviews from Critics
Image via 20th Century Fox
Even with a star-studded ensemble cast and a popular novel as its source material, Murder on the Orient Express failed to impress critics and viewers. On Rotten Tomatoes, the Kenneth Branagh adaptation holds a 60% Tomatometer score based on critics’ reviews, and a 54% Popcornmeter score based on audience reviews. On IMDb, it has a 6.5 rating with over 300,000 reviews.
Britton Peele from the Dallas Morning News wrote, “Murder on the Orient Express isn’t particularly mind-blowing, but it serves as good crime story comfort food — a whodunit that’s easy to settle in with for a couple of hours.” Meanwhile, Henry Stewart from Slant Magazine said, “The film’s biggest liberty is to make Hercule Poirot’s ultimate decision more palatable for American sensibilities.”
Murder on the Orient Express is known for its shocking and controversial ending, and remains one of the most discussed novels in Christie’s canon. Yet despite the mixed reviews from critics, Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation found success with viewers. And now that it’s heading to HBO Max on August 1st, it might even reach new audiences.
Release Date
November 10, 2017
Runtime
114 minutes
Director
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Hercule Poirot
