During the honeymoon cruise of the Doyles and their wedding party on the Nile, a murder occurs and a detective onboard, the iconic Hercule Poirot — played once again by Kenneth Branagh, who also directs –must dig through the motives of the passengers to find the killer and bring them to justice.

Death on the Nile embraces the thrilling aspects of the Whodunnit murder mystery genre, with a case that keeps you guessing. Kenneth Branagh leans more into the vain, larger-than-life portrayal of Poirot. However, the performances of some of the cast, especially Branagh and Gal Gadot, can get over-the-top and distractingly humorous, possibly unintentionally. They also try too often to give Poirot a tragic backstory, which can be appreciated but it’s far inferior to the story involving the other characters. However, Letitia Wright and Emma Mackey are standouts whose acting turns are actually able to shine. The buildup to the titular murder mystery is too long, as the title and marketing clearly tells you what kind of movie this is but takes too long to actually become that film. Once it does, however, I was actually engaged and following along as new details, motives, and alibis were presented. Though the costume design is stellar, the visuals have lots of moments of obvious green screen and CGI and the movie could’ve benefitted from a more practical look. Though it isn’t a must-watch, Death on the Nile is an improvement over its predecessor but doesn’t manage to necessarily be shocking or rewatchable — it doesn’t also help that Rian Johnson’s 2019 caper Knives Out set the bar so high for murder mysteries and that it has a sequel coming out later this year, or that Branagh just released the best film of his career, Belfast, only a few months ago. If you know what you’re in for, the ride is fun, but keep your expectations light and reasonable for an interesting and edge-of-your-seat second and third acts.