Murder on the Orient Express (2001)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Crappy film

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

The acting in this movie is really good.

If Agatha Christie had not written the mystery novel by this same name, this TV movie, "Murder on the Orient Express" might have seemed like a good movie to many. Or, if no other films had ever been made of Christie's novel, this TV movie might have seemed to be fair. But Christie did write the book, and other movies have been made of the story. So, one can't forget those when watching this poor rendition. Thus, it's not even a fair story as presented here. Hollywood and its counterparts in England and other countries have always copied earlier successes to remake films. Sometimes they keep the titles and most of the plots, but a whole new cast tackles the story. At other times, the stories are updated in time or changed in place. And sometimes, the same titles are changed so drastically that there is little resemblance between the films. Many more times, Hollywood will make an all new film and plot that copies an earlier successful one. CBS and the makers of this film would have done better by completely changing the title, characters, etc., and just enough plot details to have this stand alone as a copy of a film, but a different one. That would have been much more palatable to a huge array of movie followers who just couldn't see such a modernistic change of a classic that is unchangeable. The cast gave it a shot, but this is one story that should not be remade outside its original time, setting and plot.

I swear I really tried to watch this version of Murder on the Orient Express without comparing it to the 1974 Sidney Lumet film, but like this movie, I failed miserably. This made-for-TV movie lacks much of the class, style, and glamour of the '74 version (and the book for that matter). Talk of VCRs, fitness trainers, and computer styluses seem cheap in comparison to dragon kimonos, pipe cleaners, and butlers. The acting also lacks the class of the '74 film. With the exception of Leslie Caron, none of the other actors are worth mentioning in the same breath with Ingrid Bergman, John Gielgud, or Richard Widmark. The worst offender has to be Meredith Baxter. I couldn't watch a single second of her performance and not be reminded of the great Lauren Bacall. Plot points have been changed that really hurt the story. As Col. Arbuthnot so emphatically put it in the first, "Trial by twelve good men and true... is a sound system." Why change it to nine? This is just one example, I could go on and on about plot changes that I couldn't get past. Finally, Alfred Molina is no doubt a fine actor, but he's not Poirot (and I'm sure the screenwriters are as much to blame for this). I've read a lot of criticisms of Albert Finney's portrayal of Poirot, but to me, he nailed most of the idiosyncrasies that made Agatha Christie's character so unique. Sure, he went overboard at times, but Molina's character never even seems to try to be Poirot. And, what's with the love story involving Poirot? Like the rest of this movie, it's all wrong.In summary, if you want to watch Murder on the Orient Express, skip this one and check out the 1974 film. Or better yet, read the book.

I am a very very big fan of the Agatha Christie novels made into films especially when David Suchet is Hercule Poirot (the best by far!).Although I have recently come across this copy of Murder on the Orient Express and to tell you the truth I am very sorry that I did!!!!It is bad, bad, bad, bad!!!!!I know it is made for television viewing, but please you can not even use this as an excuse. It is too modern. Yes you can do re-makes with different actors/actresses but still have the feel of the time period in which the story is set. This doesn't. There are so many cross references to present time (Hercule using a laptop with access to the internet! get real!).I will not even start into Alfred Molina as Hercule because it would be unprintable.Did the director, producer or anyone involved in making this debacle even read the book???? This is SO awful, please stay clear.If you appreciate the correct adaptation of this classic, I beg you, make a point of watching the 1974 version.

Although I was disappointed that Granada Television never did a version of this story with David Suchet, the definitive Poirot, none the less I did enjoy this updated version of the story of a murder on the world famous luxury train. While, like many I was partial to the star studded cast of the 1974 version with Albert Finny, I have always felt that Finny's Poirot was a way overblown Charicture of Poirot, as were all of those Peter Ustinov portrayals. But Molina's essay of the Belgian sleuth, was in the best possible tradition. By the way, if anyone wants to see a perfectly disgusting rape of a Poirot story don't miss the 1966 Tony Randall film "The Alphabet Murders." That film is absolutely the worst Poirot film in history. Randall is not bad in the part, but the script and direction was a direct slap in the face of Christie. But back to this film. Given that almost everyone who knows Poirot is already familiar with this story, I found it to be a very entertaining 100 minutes.