The new version of "Massacre on the Nile" has once again been officially announced, and the "most Sherlock Holmes-like" detective Poirot is coming back.
The "protagonist" of the film is, of course, the famous ship of death. In Agatha Christie's original novel, Poirot is embroiled in a dangerous triangle during his vacation in Egypt, staging a human tragedy of lust and betrayal on the ship that sails to intrigue and death. The new version of "Massacre on the Nile" can be called "the stars shining", "Wonder Woman" Gail Gadot will play Miss Lynette Richway in the film, "Hammer Brother" Amy Hammer, "Power Kiss" Rose Leslie, "The Original Captain Marvel" Annette Bening, "Princess Wakanda" Lititia Wright and other film and television "familiar faces" will also join.
However, the film director and actor, Poirot played by Kenneth Branagh, was questioned by "Grandma fans" as a "time bomb". In 2017, the "Murder on the Orient Express", which was "operated" by the British talent, was released, which surprised many fans. The elegant and humorous Belgian old man in the original novel actually incarnated as a "hound", and in the movie, he slipped through the door to pick locks and fight and chase everything, which made people stunned. Kenneth Branagh's deductive speech is straightforward and strong, even posing with his hands and ten fingers against each other. Many fans of Agatha Christie questioned: apart from having a strange moustache, this is Sherlock Holmes at all!
Douban wrote in a high praise drama review, "The cold and capable, evil and crazy detective is certainly excellent, but if I want to see these, won't I go directly to see Sherlock Holmes?" Sherlock Holmes is charismatic, but it does not mean that every detective has to be Sherlock Holmes. Poirot's charm lies in his pompous mannerisms and polite conversation. What a fierce contrast between that comical narcissistic appearance and the intelligent and warm heart! Throw it all away, is that still Poirot? ”
You know, classics are not something that the adaptor can trash and misinterpret at will. The 1978 version of "Massacre on the Nile" has a douban score of 8.5, which is hailed as the most classic film adaptation; "Massacre on the Nile", released in 2004, starred in Poirot's version by British national treasure actor David Suche, also has a Douban score of 8.4. These highly restored novels of "pearls and jade in front", preconceived characters have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, becoming a mountain that is difficult for latecomers to overcome. Kenneth Branagh's quest for novelty is understandable, but conflating "Poirot the Great Detective" with "Sherlock Holmes" has upset fans of both schools.
What's more, although Kenneth Branagh has contributed classic Shakespearean works such as Henry V and Hamlet, the overall performance of the works in the past decade has been mediocre. The new Disney film "The Fantastic Adventures of Artemis" directed by him this year has only 4.7 Douban and 4.1 IMDB, setting a new low for Disney masterpieces in recent years, and it is also another high-investment Hollywood epic bad film after "Cats".
The new version of "Massacre on the Nile" itself is also ill-fated, the film was first scheduled for December 20, 2019, and later postponed to October 9, 2020 in North America, after the outbreak of the epidemic, the film was postponed to October 23.
Multiple negative factors superimposed, can the new version of "Massacre on the Nile" be recognized by global audiences? Perhaps the narcissistic "dramatist" Kenneth Branagh will suffer another "massacre on the Nile".