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

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.

Of course, this isn't the first time Poirot is on a train where someone is murdered. "The Mystery of the Blue Train" is from season 10 and stars David Suchet as Poirot, Elliot Gould, Lindsay Duncan, Bronagh Gallagher, and James D'Arcy.

In this episode, Poirot works to solve the murder of Ruth Kettering, the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. She is beaten literally beyond recognition. Added to this, in order to be closer to her lover, she changed rooms with Katherine Grey, a new heiress whom Poirot has befriended. Ruth owned the brilliant Heart of Fire ruby, which is now missing - but the safe wasn't broken into. When Grey visits her relatives, she is attacked, raising the question - did the killer have the right woman? There's gambling, adultery, broke relatives and resentment as Poirot investigates the suspects further. Lindsay Duncan as Gray's suddenly attentive cousin (she's broke) is fantastic. I had the pleasure of seeing her in person in "Private Lives," and she is a wonderful actress. Suchet as usual is the perfect Poirot. I also had the privilege of seeing him in person in "Amadeus." He truly is a chameleon. Georgina Rylance is also excellent as Katherine Gray, an insecure young woman who's just inherited a fortune and now socializes with a different class of people.

The rest of the acting, frankly, wasn't fabulous - you could spot the fake American accents right away and the characters seemed put on rather than the real thing. It might have been the dialogue, it might have been the directing - I tend to think it was the latter.

I don't remember this book, so I didn't mind whatever changes there were. I enjoyed the story.

I must acknowledge that when you watch this, having read the book, you will definitely be struck by the amount of changes that were made, but in all fairness it wasn't one of The Great Dame's finest works, it paled into comparison against the other train set mystery.

The story adaptation is good I thought, the story is well paced, and it features some nice characters. The story is quite dark, with some tragic themes.

My main gripe is with some of the characters, I don't think I've ever said that before about a Poirot, Lindsay Duncan plays Lady Tamplin like Eddie's long lost sister from Absolutely Fabulous, Jaime Murray's Ruth Kettering is rather poor, and even Elliot Gould I found a little off. Thank goodness for Josette Simon, who I thought was fantastic, so Charismatic, she stood out.

The direction was fine, the location work terrific. It's good, just doesn't shine like the others in this series do. 7/10

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.