...and this is on its own merits(which I consider a fairer way of judging a book adaptation) as well as an adaptation. This version of Murder on the Orient Express does have brownie points for its sumptuous settings and a good performance from Leslie Caron. Of the cast though, only Caron makes an impression. Alfred Molina is a fine actor, but is too impersonal and lacking in energy as Poirot (how he's written is a large part of the problem though), with an accent that is never consistent(though not as bad as Tony Randall's in The Alphabet Murders). Apart from Meredith Baxter, who's unbearably shrill, annoying and just wrong, the supporting roles are not disastrous, just not very memorable.
They are not entirely to blame though. The characters are nowhere near as interesting and are pale shadows of their book characters. Poirot in particular is written to the extent that he doesn't seem like Poirot with little here that makes him so unique as a character. The dialogue is stilted and could have been more intelligent and subtly humorous like Agatha Christie's prose, again apart from the title and without the knowledge of who wrote it you wouldn't know if it was Christie who wrote the story. Poirot's deductions are introduced too quickly and too soon for example. The story also suffers. It is an ingenious mystery, but feels rushed and lacking in mystery and suspense(two essential ingredients to Christie and any crime-mystery drama). Some may find it more solidly paced than the Albert Finney version, but actually for me the pacing of Finney's was wholly appropriate for the development of the characters and how the story unfolded, and also preferable.
Murder on the Orient Express(2001) does try to stick to the spirit of the original story, but also makes the decision to update it to the present day. Having a story set in the 30s(?) with modern references and products just didn't gel, especially as Christie's settings and writing were always so specific, and perhaps dates the story. And this was a similar problem I had with the Oliver Ford-Davies version of Sparkling Cyanide. The way the film was shot was not too bad, but at the same time there was nothing remarkable, competent but never above good TV quality. The music fits more with the present day setting and didn't come across as memorable to me.
Overall, a mess on its own merits and a poor adaptation of one of the Queen of Crime's best ever mysteries. See Finney's version instead, still one of my favourite Agatha Christie adaptations to this day, and while it has its problems the David Suchet(the definitive Poirot) was also better than this. 2/10 Bethany Cox
They are not entirely to blame though. The characters are nowhere near as interesting and are pale shadows of their book characters. Poirot in particular is written to the extent that he doesn't seem like Poirot with little here that makes him so unique as a character. The dialogue is stilted and could have been more intelligent and subtly humorous like Agatha Christie's prose, again apart from the title and without the knowledge of who wrote it you wouldn't know if it was Christie who wrote the story. Poirot's deductions are introduced too quickly and too soon for example. The story also suffers. It is an ingenious mystery, but feels rushed and lacking in mystery and suspense(two essential ingredients to Christie and any crime-mystery drama). Some may find it more solidly paced than the Albert Finney version, but actually for me the pacing of Finney's was wholly appropriate for the development of the characters and how the story unfolded, and also preferable.
Murder on the Orient Express(2001) does try to stick to the spirit of the original story, but also makes the decision to update it to the present day. Having a story set in the 30s(?) with modern references and products just didn't gel, especially as Christie's settings and writing were always so specific, and perhaps dates the story. And this was a similar problem I had with the Oliver Ford-Davies version of Sparkling Cyanide. The way the film was shot was not too bad, but at the same time there was nothing remarkable, competent but never above good TV quality. The music fits more with the present day setting and didn't come across as memorable to me.
Overall, a mess on its own merits and a poor adaptation of one of the Queen of Crime's best ever mysteries. See Finney's version instead, still one of my favourite Agatha Christie adaptations to this day, and while it has its problems the David Suchet(the definitive Poirot) was also better than this. 2/10 Bethany Cox