A Haunting in Venice

Kenneth Branagh's Agatha Christie-based mystery series continues to be an example of a group of films that are good, yet never quite break into that "great" category. 

The original, Murder on the Orient Express, was our first experience and while I enjoyed it at the time, there's also the lack of staying power that would probably change my score today. Its sequel, the semi-maligned Death on the Nile was a heavily delayed but capable sequel where my sentiment remains the same: a solid one-time view, with little lasting impression. 

Compare that to something like Knives Out and its sequel, Glass Onion, both of which I would watch again, and is a comparison that is 100% fair and basically pits modern mystery vs. the stories that inspired it. 

I'm a bit behind on A Haunting in Venice due to some international travel, but the consensus has been that it's the best of the bunch thanks to some horror elements. I won't argue against it, but I also don't necessarily agree. For me, we're starting to hit a wall of diminishing returns with Hercule Poirot. Yes, there are some horror elements here and the visuals and cinematography can be inspired at times, but it still follows the same logical path that most of these who-dun-its do and, by the time the credits roll, doesn't feel all that much different from Orient or Nile. 

If that sounds like I'm taking a massive crap on Venice, it shouldn't. I still enjoy these movies and would probably see a 4th if it was made. There's something fun about a mystery that unravels and provides clues along the way, all with an A-list cast. The cast this time is a little less A-list (I think Tina Fey is supposed to be the "heavy hitter"?), which is a shame, but they still do a great job. Either way a who-dun-it is a who-dun-it, meaning that they're often fun, even if they follow the formula. We still have twists and turns in the mystery within Venice, and it's true...there is a distinctness that comes with the added-value horror elements this go around.

I view most of the Branagh-directed Poirot films on the same playing field at this point; each of them competent and enjoyable, glossy and "big" (as they can be), but with little reason for me to ever need to watch them again in the future.

Rapid Rath's Review Score | 7/10