After the events of the first film, Detective Hercule Poirot is assigned to travel to Egypt in order to attend and work undercover to monitor the honeymoon of Simon Doyle and Linnet Ridgeway, which includes a cruise on the Nile River. When a murder occurs on deck, it is Poirot's job to learn what's going on before the murderer can strike again. While similar to the first film in structure, the sequel does a far better job in the overall mystery and conclusion. There's also an underlaying theme of love and what people will do for it that makes it a fitting film for the Valentine's Day week. The pacing on the other hand is a huge problem. The first half of the film moves at a snail's pace without the murder happening and just has the cast indulge on this vacation. There is a reason for the slow pace though as it does a far better job at establishing the characters and environment compared to the first film. The tone is also very much like the first, with very few jokes and a serious mood, but the latter sticks even by the end, unlike the first film's ridiculous sappy and cheesy conclusion.
Kenneth Branagh returns as Poirot to still be the most charismatic character in the film. Poirot is far more subdued in this film as the tone is far more consistent, but still has his quirks with sweets and social skills. Much like the previous film, the ensemble cast are talented and do their best in the film, but do their characters improve from the underwritten tropes from the first? To a degree. There are some characters that are underwritten and basic such as Armie Hammer's Simon the newlywed, Rose Leslie as Louise the timid maid, Emma Mackey as the crazy-ex Jaqueline, and Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French as the two bumbling British elders that are enjoying their time and are insensitive to Egyptian culture. However, there are some characters that are given a bit more depth and personality than the others such as Gal Gadot's high-class elite Linnet, Tom Bateman's Bouc, the loyal friend of Poirot, Annette Benning's Euphemia as Bouc's overcaring and possibly racist mother, Russell Brand's Linus, a doctor who was a fiancee to Linnet, Ali Fazal as Andrew, Linnet's envious cousin, Sophie Okonedo as the blues singer and cool-as-a-cat Salome, and Letita Wright as Rosalie, Salome's niece and lover to Bouc. So, the cast is much improved over the previous film in the regards to the characters. Even though not everyone is as good as Poirot and the others, at least they all still do their best in their performance.
Branagh directs once more and while his directing is as great as ever, it's far more engaging in this film. This is primarily thanks to the location and environment of Egypt and the boat. The train and snowy Alps in the first film were fine and the cold and moody lighting and colours helped with the atmosphere of the film. Here, the warm and vibrant colours of Egypt and the Nile are not only more distinct to look at, but carries its own sense of dread as the paradise will soon be viewed as deadly rather than dreamlike. The cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos is just as good, if not, better than before thanks to creative tracking shots of the ship, the panning over the river, and some dynamic cinematic birds-eye view shots. The music by Patrick Doyle has also improved. I couldn't remember anything from the previous film, but the more dramatic and dreading score helps fit the film and make things more memorable as a result. However, one thing that didn't improve was the effects. The first film wasn't heavy on visual effects as the train and environments were digital and were well rendered given the budget and limited use. However, Branagh tried to push the effects and sets with the increased budget and while the sets and recreations are pretty impressive, the issue is that the green-screen and compositing shots look dreadful. They are so obvious and unlike a train where it's easier to hide the effects in the environment, a small boat with tons of open space isn't as easy. Despite the effects though, Branagh's direction is as sharp as it can be.
"Death on the Nile" is an improved sequel that has some overbearing luggage of its own. The pacing in the first half is abysmal, some of the characters are just as underwritten as the previous film, and the visual effects are even more obvious and worse to look at. However, the murder mystery is far more compelling and interesting than before, the tone is perfectly serious and contains light levity, Branagh's Poirot is just as enjoyable as before, some of the newcomers are given character and a touch of depth, the acting all around is great from all of the talented cast members, the camerawork by Zambarloukos is visually creative and interesting, Doyle's score is more memorable than before, and Branagh's direction allows the warm sunny landscape of Egypt to carry a sense of dread and unnerving atmosphere. If they just fixed the issues they had, this honestly would be a top contender of the genre. As is, it's a solid detective film that's unfortunately burdened with a painfully slow set-up.
Verdict: 7/10. Good, but could have been far better. Watch this week if you like your spicy murder mystery adventures.
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