Film Preview: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Page Revisions:

(June 4, 2017) Original
(September 24, 2017) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#2-#3)
(November 5, 2017) New Posters (#4-#19)

Release Date:

November 10, 2017

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “A lavish train ride through Europe quickly unfolds into the thrilling mystery of thirteen strangers stranded on a train, where everyone’s a suspect. One man must race against time to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again.”

Poster Rating: B / B- / C / B- (16)

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Review: (#1) As much as I like the concept, blood-tinted smoke is a bit too obvious a design decision. That the backdrop seems dull and generic doesn’t enhance it.

(#2) Taking a slightly different tack, still using the bold blue-and-red palette of its predecessor, this design is interesting, but filled with unnecessary empty space. (#3) Now, just drop off the stylized elements of the first two designs and put the more familiar faces on this new poster and you have a design that’s both simplistic and misleading.

(#4-#19) This massive series of character posters are, in spite of using the cheaply modern neon design elements of prior posters, manage to work out quite well. Each character is posed differently with a different backdrop and even the lettering alternates in position and depth on each design. This is how you make weakly styled, but effective character posters.

Trailer Rating: D+ / B

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Review: (#1) For the first half of the trailer, establishing the setting and environment of the film, everything works most effectively. Unfortunately, when the train comes to a halt, so does the fascination with the trailer. Using a lackluster tracking shot to move through the cabin as Hercule Poirot discusses himself, this who’s who of actors seem dumbfounded and out of place, tossing out cheap one-liners that feel out of place while the tacky overlaid lettering tells us what each character’s basic occupational archetype is. It’s a hamfisted, boring trailer that puts some strong actors into a position where they look most out of place and like they aren’t giving their best performances.

(#2) The change in aesthetic and style mid-length of the first trailer was a distraction. This time out, they’ve tried to keep things much more even. Having succeeded at that, they’ve crafted a trailer that’s incredibly misleading. This sets the film up as some grand thriller on the orient express, when it’s really a simple investigative piece. It’s nice to see things like the dragon kimono that’s a prominent feature of the novel, but the film plays loosely with plot and the performances look particularly painful.

Oscar Prospects:

The film boasts a cast of noteworthy past Oscar nominees and winners and its Sidney Lumet predecessor was a six-time Oscar nominee back in 1974, winning for Ingrid Bergman. That being said, the first trailer tries for a modern bent in terms of its audience attraction and the brief glimpse at the cast doesn’t bode well. It could be a nominee below the line and a couple of longtime Oscar absences could result in a return to the competition, but I suspect it will disappoint fans of the book, of the original, and of these actors.