Kenneth Branagh continues his exploration of the Agatha Christie creation, the world’s greatest detective, Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells with Death on the Nile. It follows on the tail of Murder on the Orient Express, which Branagh also directed and starred in.

I do like the fact that Branagh seems to have taken guardianship of the character, establishing continuity for this cinematic iteration of the character. His past is filled out a little in the prologue for the story (specifically his unique moustache), it also hints at what the main driving motive for the murder in the film, love.

This time around Poirot find himself in Egypt, which is gorgeously portrayed in some beautiful location shots as well as some solid visual effects. He is asked by a newly married couple, Linnet (Gal Gadot) and Simon (Armie Hammer) to accompany them as they are being stalked by Simon’s ex, and Linnet’s childhood friend (and rival) Jackie (Emma Mackey) who is unable to let Simon go.

They find themselves cruising down the river Nile, amidst friends and family, though Linnet is anxious and put on edge by those around her, something that escalates when Jackie arrives on the lushly appointed riverboat.

There are some recognizable faces among the suspects, including Annette Bening, Rose Leslie, Sophie Okonedo, Letitia Wright, and in a delightful little bit of casting iconic comedy team (Dawn) French & (Jennifer) Saunders.

When tempers flare a shot is fired, and Simon is injured, but that is just the tip of the event, when, the next morning, Linnet is found murdered!

Branagh delivers a beautiful looking film, it’s lush, stylish, elegant, and laced with humor, which, is arguably, some of the most enjoyable ingredients of Christie’s Poirot novels. The mystery has layers, and every one is a suspect, everyone has a motive, and Poirot has his work cut out for him, as he diligently pursues the truth.

His search for the truth will include more bodies, secrets, a little bit of fun flirtation for Poirot and Okonedo’s blues singer, Salome.

There are, of course, digressions from the source material, jazzing it up a touch for modern audiences while being faithful to the original narrative, but it works, because Branagh is a capable director, and he stocks the cast with big names, turning them into star-studded affairs much like previous cinematic incarnations of Poirot’s adventures.

It’s not a fast-paced tale, and may in fact not hold the attention of some. It takes it’s time over the course of two hours laying out the murder and its resolution. Some of it is very easy to figure out, connecting all the dots alongside Poirot is fun, and I really enjoy Branagh’s portrayal of the character.

It’s obvious Branagh loves a good mystery, though Dead Again could be argued as his best, but I do like his Poirot films. They are best watched with a cup of tea, and a discussion of the suspects and clues as you watch.

I’ll look forward to catching the third film in the series, A Haunting in Venice.