The Mystery of the Blue Train

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, it was very gripping, very compelling and fun. Story wise, this adaptation of The Mystery of the Blue Train is disappointing, the plot changes are a great many and some parts were rather hard to follow. Plus I found some of the final solution on the contrived side, and the direction flawed. Flaws aside, the locations, scenery, photography, costumes and sets are gorgeous and picturesque and the train itself is imposing. The music has real flair to it as well, the script has its amusing and thoughtful moments and I thought the acting in general was fine. David Suchet of course is exceptional, and Elliot Gould is good as Rufus. James D'Arcy is very handsome and acts well, the character of Derek Kettering is rather unlikeable at first, but later you believe that he is innocent. Georgina Rylance is sweet and alluring as Katherine, Lindsay Duncan is delightful and Jaime Murray is attractive enough as Ruth. I was not a fan though of Nicholas Farrell's Knighton, the character I felt wasn't developed that well and Farrell couldn't seem to do anything with it. Overall, an uneven adaptation but in terms of production values and some good performances it is worth seeing. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox

At 53 minutes on streaming, captions say Duke Ellington. It is Sing Sing Sing, Benny Goodman's famous recording from 1937. I kept feeling confused during this episode. But the train and the beautiful scenery in Nice make it memorable. I would have liked to know more about the history of the ruby. I tried to put myself in Katherine's shoes and I don't know if I would so easily fallen in with Poirot as a companion. I'm also surprised at the French police giving Poirot the lead in the investigation. There are a lot of good actors in this episode, so many I felt like it was being set up as Orient Express lite.

Camera work here is so terribly distracting one must focus on the plot intensely to follow Poirot as he unravels this mystery. Casting the horrid likes of elliot gould make matters worse, as he hams it up unmercifully. Backlit scenes, blurry visuals, one wonders what in the Wide World of Mystery were they going for...

I am not a terribly big fan of Agatha Christie, but "Mystery of the Blue Train" is one of her novels that I did in fact like and was therefore thrilled to hear that they've made this TV adaptation as part of the "Poirot" series with David Suchet.

Unfortunately, it was not to be... it started on the wrong foot immediately with the way it was directed--was there no one around to rein the director in? Everything seems shot in darkness, through smoke, half-obscured, half-reflected in mirrors, etc. It's often difficult to even see the faces of actors because of this.

Of course, that would probably be bearable if the screenplay adaptation wasn't so bad. It takes amazing liberties with the novel (some of which have been already mentioned in other comments) that I couldn't believe. The storyline doesn't seem to make any sense any more, and the dynamic between some of the characters has been completely changed.

In conclusion, do not go anywhere near this movie if you've liked the novel at all.

POIROT has been cherished by Agatha Christie fans for keeping close to the original novel 9 times out of 10. For some reason, 3 of the 4 episodes this season have changed the plot until it's unrecognizable. Will the faithful Poirot ever return? Not very likely-- unfortunately, the faithful Poirot seems to have ended when Agatha Christie's daughter died. Matthew Pritchard says his grandmother wouldn't have minded the changes-- he is 99% of the time wrong, but he may have been right this time. Agatha Christie said several times that THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE TRAIN was her worst novel ever, and she hated it. I do not share her opinion. I liked the book how it was. No changes are required if it's an Agatha Christie-- her name on the book is a guarantee that it's perfect.

The changes made in the movie are innumerable. This is a complete rewrite of the book-- it's the NEMESIS of the Poirot season. Did the screenwriter read the book? However, if you put the changes behind you and try to sit back and enjoy the movie, you may end up liking it.