The well renowned and beloved murder mystery writer Agatha Christie penned “Death on the Nile” in 1937. The story follows the twists and turns of a wedding party, a murdered bride and a scorned best friend in a plot that is anything but predictable. With over 180,000 ratings from readers on Goodreads the book has a 4.12 star rating, a particularly high score, with lots of positive reviews. This movie adaptation of “Death on the Nile” follows Hercule Poirot, who was also the sleuth in “Murder on the Orient Express,” another book by Christie. While I don’t doubt the glowing reviews left for the novel “Death on the Nile,” I cannot offer the same sweet sentiments about the movie adaptation.
Let’s get this out of the way so we can focus on the more positive aspects of the movie. “Death on the Nile” is a CGI (or computer-generated imagery) nightmare with special effects so boorish it could have been filmed in 2005. The temple and pyramid scenes were particularly jarring, probably because Egypt in “Death on the Nile” was built and filmed entirely in England. “Death on the Nile” craves the title of a period piece but nonsensically mixes 2022 social norms with its old money aesthetics, placing the film in a timeless void. It’s riddled with plot holes and sad attempts to modernize the conservative plot that clearly dates the film.
“Death on the Nile” was filmed from September to December in 2019, and the film was supposed to be released in October of 2020 but was pushed back due to production issues and the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, it can be concluded that the film’s release was pushed back further because of the controversy surrounding Armie Hammer, who plays the groom in “Death on the Nile.” In January and February of 2020, sexual and physical assault allegations surfaced from a number of Hammer’s exes. Hammer was dropped from his next project “Shotgun Wedding” and let go by his agent and publicist company.
There’s no question as to why Hammer is practically invisible from all of the prerelease “Death on the Nile” propaganda. He’s given scarcely a second of screen time in the trailer, and I assume 20th Century Studios chose to use an image of the boat for the poster for a reason. For the large role he plays in the film he’s barely on screen, leading me to believe some of his scenes were cut in post-production — and rightly so. There’s no blame to assign to 20th Century Studios for casting him years before the allegations, but knowing what a creep Hammer is makes the film difficult to watch.
Other than these setbacks, the film is easy enough to watch. Emma Mackey, who is a fan-favorite from the hit show “Sex Education,” tackles the role of Jackie with ease. She and Gal Gadot make “Death on the Nile” worth watching, and Kenneth Branagh holds the film together like glue with his sleuthing escapades. The plot twist was slightly predictable, but still fun to watch as an audience member.
If you live and die for murder mysteries or loved “Murder on the Orient Express,” this movie is for you. For those with a lower tolerance for whodunnit tactics and kind of corny lines, I’d advise you to stay away. “Death on the Nile” is perfect for murder mystery fans — nothing more and nothing less.
