Agatha Christie's Poirot

Sure, Inspector Japp, Miss Lemon and above all Captain Hastings are missed. But none of those characters were in the book either so plot wise they wouldn't belong anyway. David Suchet is as ever perfect as Poirot, though he seems to have gained just a little weight! He's now almost Peter Ustinov size! The sets are theatrical-movie quality, it's full of period atmosphere, and the casting is almost perfect. I especially liked Georgina Rylance as the shy yet too smart to be taken advantage of Katherine Grey, and Lindsay Duncan as the wacky Lady Tamplin. The only rather flat performances were by Elliot Gould, and Jaime Murray whose work I love from Hustle but had admittedly a rather small role (even though she is the main victim) here. Ruth Kettering sure is a born victim though!



All in all a welcome comeback of the great Poirot series, and I can't wait for the next one.

The Mystery of the Blue Train is an OK Poirot episode. However, "OK" for this series is superb compared to many other programs.



There's no denying that the cast is uniformly excellent. I think that the most impressive performances are that of Georgina Rylance as Katherine Grey and James D'Arcy as Derek Kettering (and of course David Suchet). It's also nice to see Nicholas Farrell, who over 10 years ago played Donald Fraser in The ABC Murders. The cinematography is also first-rate. There are many beautiful images of the French Riveira and the train as it makes the journey throughout France.



However, there is something that is distinctly missing. As much as I miss Hastings, Japp, and Miss Lemon, it is not them. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the book was just an expansion of the short story The Plymouth Express, which has already been adapted. There are also some pointless changes (such as a subplot about Ruth's mother being alive) that add nothing to the film, and this could be a part of the problem.



Altogether, though, this feeling passes when you watch it again. You begin to appreciate its merits and enjoy it as it is.