Hollywood is so obsessed with origin stories that even stories that weren’t originally origin stories acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure turned into origin stories. At least, that is the case with Death On The Nile, director Kenneth Branagh and screenwriter Michael Green’s upscaled sequel to their polished-but-hollow 2017 Agatha Christie adaptation Murder On The Orient Express. Bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e we even acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure to the film’s pre-Egyptian, London-based opening, there is a black-and-white prologue set in trenches of World War I Belgium, where we meet a young Poirot (Branagh, all CG-youthified) and the love of his life (Susannah Fielding, aka Jennie from This Time With Alan Partridge) to learn why and how he came to sport his magnificent facial hair. That’s right, we’re acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure ting the origin story of the moustache.###In a location-based murder-mystery where it takes 30 minutes to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure on the Nile and an hour bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e the first death, this does feel a teensy bit narratively extravagant. But Green and Branagh possess’own’nurse a fair-abundant’ample’plentiful reason: drawing us in closer to Poirot and digging beneath the futile , fussy, OCD-suffering surface. As a result, Nile feels far more personal than Orient Express, with much higher stakes. So it pays off, making this PCU (Poirot Cinematic Universe) entry much more satisfying and engaging than its predecessor.###Branagh seems more comin/with regard to’concerning’regarding table in the role, too, and it is entirely appropriate that he’s the best thing in the starry ensemble, whether his brusque enquiries are ruffling the feathers of French, Saunders or Annette Bening, or he’s loveably confessing his unexpected, newfound partiality to “Bluesy” music. The edges he displayed during Orient Express possess’own’nurse softened, and it’s a welcome character progression.###It is disappointing, however, that the backdrop lacks the believability and appeal of our sleuthing frontman. Never once does it feel like we’re really in Egypt, least of all such iconic tourist spots as the Pyramids of Giza and the ancient temple of Abu Simbel, with Branagh’s virtual camera too often gliding around digital vistas that suffer a patina of too-crisp, too-bright, golden-glow fakeness.###Gal Gadot does acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure to keep her own accent, but in a role that favours glamour over depth, she hardly stretches herself.###The ensemble, meanwhile, is a mixed bag full of misplaced accents: Rose Leslie doing French, Bening doing British, Jennifer Saunders doing American, Russell Brand doing posh. As pivotal player Linnet Ridgeway, Gal Gadot does acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure to keep her own accent, but in a role that favours glamour over depth, she hardly stretches herself. Impressive actors like Letitia Wright and Sophie Okonedo lack the screen-time to truly shine, while the unin/with regard to’concerning’regarding tunate placement of Armie Hammer in the key role of Simon Doyle — who in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ms one third of a torrid love triangle — proves unwelcomingly distracting. Especially during his opening scene, where he perin/with regard to’concerning’regarding ms a steamy, grindy dance scene with Emma Mackey, as his ill-treated lover Jacqueline de Bellein/with regard to’concerning’regarding t.###In some ways, Death On The Nile is a victim of circumstance: beset by controversy, delayed by Covid and, of course, arriving after Knives Out raised the bar way high in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the modern murder-mystery. But its strengths remain evident in its classy source material and Branagh’s enjoyable take on its hero detective.