Book Review: “The Fortunes of Captain Blood,” by Rafael Sabatini

Genre: historical fiction; adventure

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Plot Summary: The adventures of Captain Blood—gentleman doctor, turned rebel– continue to exasperate fellow pirates and the Spanish Main!

My Book Review: My enjoyable experiences with the first two Captain Blood books (Captain Blood; Captain Blood Returns) led me to the third and final installment of the trilogy by Rafael Sabatini.  As it was with #2 in the series, the short story adventures of #3 take place within the time frame of #1.

However, I was a little disappointed in this one.  The exploits are still witty and exciting, but I could have done with more sword fighting, battle scenes, and tales of Blood’s comrades.  Instead we get much more solo adventures of Peter Blood and how he cleverly navigates the upper hand in various situations such as freeing a slave, seeking revenge, or helping damsels out of their distresses.  Books 2 and 3 could have been better if they’d featured Blood’s love interest, Arabella.  But they do include other females of both good and ill repute that provide some feminine interest.

One troubling issue was that although enslaved whites in the Caribbean (political prisoners) were viewed as a terrible thing by the Captain, blacks in slavery did not seem to bother him or effect the same kind of sympathy.  I would have liked to have seen his abhorrence toward ALL slavery.

The Peter Blood books all contain much swearing, but the author keeps us from hearing the worst of it.  The Captain is always chivalrous and considers himself as answering to a higher moral code than most other seafaring rapscallions or government authorities.  This particular book contained five or six short stories (lengthy chapters).  It was hard to determine which story was my favorite, as each one seemed just as interesting as the last.  However, it did become difficult to keep all the different villains straight and I would often forget who characters were from one chapter to the next.  I’m sure in a few months, I won’t remember any of it—but the best part of the adventures was the exciting atmosphere itself!

This book will complete your Peter Blood-lust.  Unfortunately, it just wasn’t as great as the preceding books.

 

Book Review: “The Shape of Sand,” by Marjorie Eccles

Genre: historical fiction; mystery

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Plot Summary: It is 1946.  When Vigilance Assurance buys the old Charnley House to renovate for modern offices, a dreadful secret is discovered behind the walls.  Family members of the pre-WWI era are contacted, but the police have more important things to do than investigate a cold case nobody cares about anymore.  Except the living relatives do care.  Beatrice Jardine left behind three young adult daughters the night she disappeared, all of whom are haunted by what they perceive happened.  What occurred on their mother’s fashionable trip to Egypt at the turn of the century?  Did the mysterious Mr. Iskander- part Egyptian, part Russian- have anything to do with her disappearance?  And what is eldest sister Vita hiding?  Can middle daughter Harriet and her niece Nina piece together the events to figure out what really happened?

My Book Review: I have no remembrance of how this title came recommended to me or how I discovered it.  I think it’s been on my TBR so long that I don’t remember how long.  But give me a cozy mystery—cold case fashion—and throw in a dash of the exotic and you’ve got me hooked.

I love the atmosphere of Agatha Christie’s foreign novels (Death on the Nile, Murder in Mesopotamia).  I love archaeology, I love all things Egyptian.  This book’s flavor definitely satisfied those desires.  The mystery had me immersed from the very beginning—switching from the more modern story of Harriet in post-WWII Britain to 35 years previously when her family resided at the glamorous country estate.  A cast of intriguing characters kept my attention.  And the story didn’t lag halfway through like so many often do.

The suspense was kept up through to the very end- to the epilogue and beyond, in fact.  I really have to give the author credit.  This is so hard to do and can be rare even in many cozy mysteries.  I liked that there wasn’t a lot of gore or bad language.  Is it a clean read?  This is a little difficult to answer, as a mystery by definition isn’t going to feature lots of people with pure motives.  SPOILER ALERT: There are characters who have had affairs; some characters live with each other unmarried; some characters have trysts.  There is an implied gay relationship.  END OF SPOILER.  However, none of this is gone into very descriptively, which I appreciated.

What I loved most about is that the author leaves the mystery open at the end, leaving you on your own to surmise what happened.  Here is my opinion of Who Did It and Why SPOILER ALERT: Clara Hallam, Beatrice’s maid genuinely believed she had killed her mistress all those years ago, and confessed and killed herself at the end of the book.  However, Beatrice was clearly still breathing when her husband entered the room.  Amory, who suspected that his wife was having an affair with his friend, Lord Wycombe, finished her off for a mixture of reasons.  One, because she was humiliating him behind his back, flirting with numerous fellows; two, because Lord Wycombe was actually his lover as well and Beatrice was coming between them, creating a love triangle.  Lord Wycombe entered the room soon after and knew Amory had killed his wife.  He helped his friend dispose of her body (he never was very keen on his affair with Beatrice) and the two kept each other’s secrets, only reluctantly calling in the police when it began to look too suspicious that they weren’t.  END OF SPOILER.  (My sister informs me that one has to have a dirty mind to figure this out. 😉 )

One thing I did wish was a little different was that I kept thinking Harriet was going to find lots of clues in the old box found at the beginning of the book.  It did include her mother’s diary, which did provide some information.  But the box wasn’t a treasure trove of clues needing to be pieced together.  I also thought that Harriet and her sisters were going to somehow “recreate” their mother’s birthday party as nearly as they could to that fateful night to help them stomp out who did it.  But this didn’t happen, either.  I think the book could have been even more interesting if it did.

I had never read anything by Marjorie Eccles before, but I am glad I started with this one as I feel the ending was genius and I have to say I’m impressed.  I think it can even compete with some of Christie’s mysteries.  Lovers of Downton Abbey will also enjoy it, I’m sure.  I am wanting to add a few more of her titles to my TBR.  They are the kind that give you anticipatory tingles!

 

Book Review: “The Woman in White,” by Wilkie Collins

Genre: classic; romance; gothic; mystery; thriller; suspense

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Plot Summary: Walter Hartright, a young drawing teacher, is employed by a wealthy Cumbrian benefactor to teach his two wards painting.  Over the course of a pleasant summer, he falls in love with the beautiful heiress Laura Fairlie.  But she is engaged to another man.  A stranger arrives with a note containing warnings about Miss Fairlie’s intended.  Who is telling the truth?  Who is the young woman in white who looks like Laura?  And who will emerge from this story sane?

My Book Review: This is my third book by Wilkie Collins, and by now he is at the top of my list of favorite authors and I am quite a fan.  I loved “The Moonstone” when I first read it over twelve years ago and now that I’ve finished WiW I realize I love this one even more!  It is a very thick novel, and switches first person accounts as Moonstone did, and which I love.  It gives the story more of an air of authenticity.  There are three very distinct seasons within the story (or epochs, as Hartright calls it): 1) Limmeridge House; 2) Blackwater Park; 3) investigations from London.

Geniuses are ahead of their time, and that’s what makes this book so riveting.  It covers the themes of mental illness, women’s rights and narcissism.  But it also upholds the “old-fashioned” values of honor, faithfulness and compassion.

One of the best characters of the book, Marian Halcombe, is a strong heroine.  She is not beautiful but she has a capable mind and is a match for the villainous Count.  I loved reading about her standing firm on principles.  She makes mistakes anyone could have made in her discernment but they were honest ones and she had good intentions.  If it weren’t for her physical weakness and loyalty to her half-sister Laura, she could have beaten Count Fosco at Blackwater Park.  I was on the edge of my seat throughout that ordeal!  I felt like I was about ready to go crazy myself, so bizarre were some of the happenings.  Not all perceptions by all good characters are correct, because they only have half the tale.  Neither are all antagonists what they fully appear.  What a great storyteller Collins was!

SPOILER: Walter’s restraint from pursuing Laura when he could have had her was touching.  He could have overpowered her, influenced her, manipulated her just as easily as Sir Percival or the Count could have.  But he is aware of her unavailability (maritally and mentally).  END OF SPOILER.  Love is patient.  Love is kind.  It is not self-seeking… and that is the picture we see in this hero, aptly named.

Wow, these characters were so developed.  You could make a psychological study of almost all of them.  Skipping past the “goodies”, let’s look at some “baddies”.  Count Fosco is definitely the strong evil one of the piece.  He had the hold on people somewhat like a cult leader.  His extreme narcissism and magnetism with which he controlled others were apparent.  But looking at the symptoms his wife exhibited were even more telling.  She worshiped and served him without question.  She is described as having had a completely different personality before her marriage to him.  She had no thought of her own (only programmed by the Count), and would go into a paranoia if she thought his position threatened.  I was doing some interesting reading on this.  Her cold, motionless staring, even her repetitive “busywork”– endlessly rolling the Count’s cigarettes—seemed indicative of a classic textbook Geschwind syndrome or temporal lobe epilepsy, similar to the brains of long-term cult victims.  And Wilkie Collins wrote this in 1859??  Fascinating!

It was interesting that not everything that happened was part of the scheme of the villains.  Certain things backfired on them.  Part of me was disappointed in finding this out in the end because I liked thinking the Count was a Complete Mastermind Evil Being.  But it actually served to make it more realistic and believable.  The ending was not entirely explained [SPOILER: Who was the assassin? END OF SPOILER], but then not everything in life is.  The character Pesca sort of fizzled out at the end for me and he needed a stronger ending.

But really, this has been one of my favorite reads of the year.  I can see why it is such a classic.  There’s so much depth for analyzing and going deeper and I would love to hear/read/discuss more of it!  I’m also looking forward to watching different film versions.

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Book Review: “Arsene Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes”

Genre: suspense; mystery; early 1900’s

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Plot Summary: It all starts in an antique shop, where a professor purchases a convenient little writing desk for his daughter.  What he doesn’t know will ultimately be his downfall… which will then lead to his windfall.  Next, the murder of the Baron D’hautrec leads to confusion… and then order.  And lastly, the theft of a priceless ancient artifact leads to a false trail… which then becomes the true one.  All of these conundrums sound like the French superthief Lupin is involved, and English supersleuth Sholmes is on the trail!  Will they be able to escape each other?

My Book Review: Oh, these obscure vintage mysteries don’t get enough love in the book world!  They make for lively reads with very original plot twists.  Lupin makes an interesting heist-genre character in that he is too bad to be a Robin Hood, yet has a heart enough not to be a complete cold blooded con man.  He’s very choosy—not every valuable is worth stealing in his estimation.  And he plays matchmaker on occasion!  Even so, we should know enough not to believe one word of what he says.

The battle of English and French wits was fun and Sholmes’ interactions with his worshiping sidekick Wilson were hilarious and made for some of my favorite scenes.  A spoof on the popular Sherlock, of course.  But this isn’t purely a case of bumbling investigator against brilliant villain.  No, both are geniuses in their own vein—the question is, who is a step ahead of whom?

Arsene Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes is the second in the series by Maurice LeBlanc and they are translated from the original French.  I believe I enjoyed this book better than the previous, as the first one was more of a collection of short stories about Lupin whereas this felt connected enough to make a novel.  Short stories have just never been a thing with me.

These stories might have been written over a century ago, but there is something about them that make them so modernly appealing.  I encourage you to give these a try!

*This book also goes by the titles: The Blonde Lady or Arsene Lupin Versus Sherlock Holmes

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Book Review: “Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Thief,” by Maurice LeBlanc

Genre: classic; adventure; mystery

Plot Summary: [from goodreads:] “The suave adventures of a gentleman rogue—a French Thomas Crown Created by Maurice LeBlanc during the early twentieth century, Arsene Lupin is a witty confidence man and burglar, the Sherlock Holmes of crime. The poor and innocent have nothing to fear from him; often they profit from his spontaneous generosity. The rich and powerful, and the detective who tries to spoil his fun, however, must beware. They are the target of Arsene’s mischief and tomfoolery. A masterful thief, his plans frequently evolve into elaborate capers, a precursor to such cinematic creations as Ocean’s Eleven and The Sting. Sparkling with amusing banter, these stories—the best of the Lupin series—are outrageous, melodramatic, and literate.”

My Book Review: This series grabbed my attention on Librivox a while back.  I wasn’t expecting too much out of them, but I at least wanted to try the first book, “…Gentleman-Thief”.  Each chapter is basically its own standalone short story featuring the hero (or antihero) Arsene Lupin.  I tend not to like short stories, but I was surprised by how delightfully colorful and entertaining these were!  They all kept me guessing and contained much cleverness and wit.  Is it really him, or not him, or him pretending to not be him pretending to be him?  How will he get out of that pickle in time… or did he plan the pickle and is already gone… or was he there all the time?  I second guessed myself until the last page of each story!

It was a bit hard for me to conquer the long chapters, but I pushed myself.  The copy I read was a Penguin edition which had annotated notes in the back for lots of references and cross references in Le Blanc’s stories.  I started to read them, but then felt they gave away too many surprises for later in the book and series.

I will definitely be continuing with more Arsene Lupin books.  If you’re looking for something a little different, if you love roguish, daring characters, if you’re looking for adventures in France—I think you’ll enjoy this read.

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Book Review: “King Solomon’s Mines,” by H. Rider Haggard

Genre: classic; adventure

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Plot Summary: Experienced hunter Allan Quartermain is approached by two gentlemen proposing a search party/treasure hunt into unexplored deepest Africa.  Though he is skeptical about their success, he agrees to accompany them in hopes of leaving a legacy for his son.  Setting out, the trio encounter extremely hazardous conditions in the form of natural phenomenon, climate, and native hostility.  Will they even find what is rumored to have been Solomon’s ancient diamond mines?  Or will they succumb to the dangers along the way?

My Book Review: Oh my.  This is an oldie I’ve had on my list since way back as a mid teenager.  It’s always had this appeal for me as an armchair adventurer.  Ancient treasure, connected to true-life history while at the same time mysterious and mythical, including drama in far-off lands…!  I was finally able to read it this summer and hoped that my thirst for excitement would be fulfilled.

Although the actual story is fictitious, many of the characteristics of the novel are closer to the reality of the time period of which it was written.  It was not uncommon for adventurers to explore Africa in the latter part of the 1800’s, and many ancient secrets and geological treasures were discovered.  Haggard loosely based his characters on people he had met.  I would also like to further read on the topic of Solomon’s mines in particular and have added “In Search of King Solomon’s Mines,” by Tahir Shah to my TBR.

The thing I loved most about this exciting, atmospheric novel was the poetic descriptions of the land and people.  Africa has never been my favorite place to read about, but this book awoke more interest in it for me.  So many curious observations are made by the travelers that it gives the story a feeling of authenticity.  The battle scenes were also most exciting and it was easy to picture Chris Helmsworth as Sir Henry Curtis, standing his ground in battle clothed in ancient chain mail armor and wielding a battle-axe.

I also wondered how much this book might have influenced J. R. R. Tolkien in his Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I could see many similarities between the two.  For instance, SPOILER ALERT: the story starts out with a band of men coming together to start a quest, — a fellowship, if you will.  There is no doubting the three individuals’ sincerity and their implicit trust in each other from the beginning.  The adventurers eventually encounter ‘The Silent Ones’– three gigantic statues that had been carved long ago and set before the entrance to the treasure cave.  Is anybody seeing the Argonath here?  After this, they enter the “Place of Death” (so called by the natives) where they are awed by the enormous cathedral-like caverns underneath the mountain Suliman’s Berg.  I couldn’t help but picture the mines of Moriah.  At last they meet a table surrounded by dead kings of the past.  At this moment I began to picture Dwimorberg and the Paths of the Dead.  Or, Lewis fans might think of the sleeping lords on the island of Ramandu.  Another Narnian similarity I spotted was the underground diggings (of course, common to mines) and the underground lake they fell into while escaping from the treasure cave.  They eventually came to an animal hole in the earth where they popped through.  Reminded me so much of The Silver Chair!  END OF SPOILER

Although there is some sense of ‘white superiority’ on the part of our narrator Quartermain, I was actually surprised at how progressive he was for that time period in how he and his friends came to view the local natives as dear friends, comrades in arms, brothers, and noble people.

This was a book I finished at 12:30 in the morning, so you know I was pretty happy with my reading experience.  I think I will even say it surpassed my hopes!  I can’t wait to watch some film adaptations, although I doubt they’ll be faithful.   If you like your PCness, this won’t be the book for you.  But as I’ve just learned, Haggard was highly respected by the Oxford Inklings after all and one of them (Roger Lancelyn Green) is quoted as praising him “with the highest level of skill and sheer imaginative power.”  Need I say more?  I’m delighted to know there are 14 more books in the series!  What more bizarre situations can Quartermain find himself in?

*One note of caution for parents- a pair of mountains are described by Quartermain as “Sheba’s Breasts” because of their shape.  At times, it seems to go into unnecessary description over it.

Listen to King Solomon’s Mines for free!

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Movie Review: “The Jungle Book”

Based on the Rudyard Kipling.

Version: 2016; starring Ben Kingsley; Bill Murray; Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Walken

Genre: adventure; children’s classic

Plot Summary: [from goodreads:] “After a threat from the tiger Shere Khan forces him to flee the jungle, a man-cub named Mowgli embarks on a journey of self discovery with the help of panther, Bagheera, and free spirited bear, Baloo.”

My Review: Disclaimer*: I have not read the original book, so this review will not by comparing it to that novel.  Only as a story in and of itself, totally unrelated to the book.  

Alright, an amendment: as a teenager I did try to read the Jungle Books, but did not get very far because it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I remember watching the Disney animation a few times as a child though, and I would also recommend the Masterpiece classic “My Boy Jack” based on the true story of author Rudyard Kipling and his son during the Great War (starring Daniel Radcliffe).

Even though reading the book escaped me, I was excited to see the live action version. I think the most fun for me was listening to all the great voice actors (obviously, we see only one human throughout the whole film, except in distant portrayals of the villagers).  I did not know beforehand who was playing most of the characters, so it was fun guessing.  I absolutely loved Ben Kingsley’s noble sounding voice as Bagheera.  What a perfect match for one of my favorite actors!  Another favorite was Christopher Walken as King Louie.  Although it took me a little bit, I soon recognized his famous voice and I thought it was hysterical!

It was genius to change the voice of Kaa the Python to a woman’s. For one, it provides more female roles to the story, and also the thought of an alto voice can be very hypnotizing.  However, Scarlett Johansson just didn’t do it for me (I don’t know why this is).  It also did not seem to make sense why this villain was in the story in the first place.  It didn’t flow connectively to other parts.

Is this live action a musical? Not really, though it does include some snippets of songs from the cartoon, but this primarily weighs in favor of the drama.  The characters who do sing are not exactly noted for their musical capabilities.

The special effects were great and there was an appropriate atmosphere of fear throughout, balanced by Mowgli’s faithful and loving friends. Raksha, Mowgli’s mother-wolf, is nurturing and Baloo the bear provides cute, comic relief.  My personal favorites were the little wolf cubs.  🙂

Despite all of this, I disliked how this movie ended. In both the book and 1967 version, Mowgli the boy goes to live in a human village where he is adopted by parents.  Baloo and Bagheera sacrifice and do what is best in their friend’s interest, making for a bittersweet but satisfying ending.  In this newest adaptation, after all of the struggle for keeping Mowgli safe, the boy stays with his animal friends.  Perhaps this is a bridge to a Jungle Book II?  Who knows.  But one has to wonder what the purpose was in Mowgli living isolated from his own kind.  In the earlier version Bagheera shows wisdom (and joy) in seeing Mowgli off to a home among people who can nurture him better than the animals can.  In version 2016, nature seems elevated above the benefit of human love and relationships.  Man is evil, and Shere Khan cannot really be held responsible for his actions because man *made* him what he is.  It all boils down to your world view.

Most will probably find this movie family friendly, though it is sad to see a tiger kill a wolf (not graphically), and there are some scary parts (snakes, teeth, etc.) that may bother little children.

*Of interest, I find that another live-action version of The Jungle Book, directed by Andy Serkis is due in the near future.

 

Book Review: “Strong Poison,” by Dorothy L. Sayers

Genre: classic; mystery; 1930’s

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Plot Summary: Lord Peter Wimsey is thoroughly engrossed in the case of accused murderess Harriet Vane.  He knows she didn’t do it– now he has to find the proof!  With a few well-placed friends at his disposal, he sets about proving the young woman’s innocence.  But time is ticking, and perhaps the murdered man committed suicide in order to take revenge out on his ex?  This makes the mystery even harder to solve.

My Book Review:  The Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries have been around for a great while.  I remember trying to read them on the recommendation of my Aunt E when I was teenager, but never could get a hang for the characters and their dialogue.  It does take a little bit of getting used to.  I think this was one of those rare cases where watching the movie first helped to read the book later.  I never knew I wanted to try any more Wimsey until I watched Dorothy L. Sayer’s Lord Peter Wimsey: Strong Poison [this BBC series was made into a trilogy, all featuring Harriet Vane].  Although the Wimsey mysteries are available in short stories and novels, and Strong Poison is the 6th novel in the series, it really can be read standalone as the beginning of a miniseries within the series—the trilogy surrounding Wimsey and Vane’s romance.  These are the only books I am currently interested in reading by Sayers.

As I remarked earlier, Sayer’s writing style is hard for me get used to, being that it is very old-fashioned British and upper class conversations with very little description and action.  It’s also why I prefer to watch Jeeves and Wooster over reading the books.  But once you get the swing of the spirit of the thing, it can be accessible.  It has its own flavor: dry and witty.

I think because this book is #6, I am not as well acquainted with the main character (Lord Wimsey) than I might be if having started at the beginning.  That was a drawback and hard to get to like him.  It felt unbelievable that he would so quickly fall head over heels for a woman practically on death row without any proof, and on top of that there is no explanation provided for his attraction to her.

I enjoyed the suspense and the treasure hunt-aspect of the plot.  It’s been a long time since I felt excited over such a mystery—probably since Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys!  And there are lots of different characters to make each chapter interesting.  It makes one feel that any normal person (with observational skills and a little guts) could be a sleuth!

If you’re looking for a bit of English fun and excitement, I think you’ll enjoy trying this one.  …And then go ahead and watch the BBC movies, starring Harriet Walters and Edward Petherbridge.  They are highly recommended and some of my favorites!

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Book Review: “1984,” by George Orwell

Genre: classic; dystopian; futuristic

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Plot Summary: [from goodreads:] “Published in 1949, the book offers political satirist George Orwell’s nightmare vision of a totalitarian, bureaucratic world and one poor stiff’s attempt to find individuality.”

My Book Review:  Who hasn’t heard of this classic novel by now?  Of course it’s a must-read, and I had to find out for myself why it is.  I quickly learned that this doesn’t have much to do with how George Orwell predicted the world would be by 1984.  It’s not really futuristic in that sense.  It’s just the year (or, approximate year for no one really knows for certain) that the story takes place in.

This review isn’t going to do the book justice.  Let’s just say it got my inner cogs going page after page!  I wish I had kept a journal of things I came across as interesting, along with my commentary and thoughts but I didn’t have a notebook at the time.  I fairly flew through this.  I will probably want to go back and dissect it even more later.  I recommend an annotated version, commentary, curriculum, or cliff’s notes to go along with reading it.  There’s just so much food for thought!

There were not a few unsettling parts.  I wasn’t prepared for the sex scenes.  There are several, so parents will want to be really cautious if letting highschoolers read this.  The main characters don’t always make moral choices or follow a moral code.  That’s not to say our main character doesn’t try, but at some point any of us may reach a weak spot somewhere.  I disliked the character of Julia.  I found her shallow, worldly, and rather a tramp.  I didn’t really trust her emotionally with Winston.

I felt frustrated with the interruption of Winston’s reading of The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, a mini-book within the book which was more interesting than it sounds.  Just when it got to the really good part–!  (No spoilers here.)

Naturally after reading the book, I wanted to know more about the author.  Some readers may be surprised to find that George Orwell himself (pen name for Eric Blair) was a socialist.  He distinguished himself from it in the ordinary sense of the word by calling himself a democratic socialist, but all socialist roads lead to socialism in my book.  There are no checks to keep man in balance once you start playing around with it.  I think he began to move more and more toward this conclusion near the end of his life, though he may not have completely turned about.

I could make this a super long review, but I’d recommend reading the book for yourself.  If you’re looking for a feel-good story, this is not it.  The whole tone is tense, gritty, and black and blue.  I came away from it with two thoughts: A) relief that man is too human to be able to hold up a perfectly rigid system such as Big Brother’s; and B) anxiety knowing that man is too human not to try.

The world goes batty:

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Movie Review: “Murder on the Orient Express”

Based on the book by Agatha Christie.

Version: 2017; starring Kenneth Branaugh; Johnny Depp; Derek Jacobi; Michelle Pfeiffer; Judi Dench

Genre: classic; suspense; costume drama; mystery

Plot Summary: [from imdB.com:]  “When a murder occurs on the train he’s travelling on, celebrated detective Hercule Poirot is recruited to solve the case.”

My Review: Disclaimer*: I have not read the original book, so this review will not by comparing it to that novel.  Only as a story in and of itself, totally unrelated to the book. 

When I first saw the promo trailer for this, my first instinct was: “No.  That’s not Poirot, and nobody can tell me it is.” How can anybody possibly play that character better than David Suchet?  But there have been so many times when I have tried something (usually movies) that I thought I would hate, and it turned out I liked it much, much better than I thought I would, or benefited by it in some way.  So I did break down and give this a try.

Did it surpass the previous Orient Express I love starring Suchet, Barbara Hershey, and Toby Jones?  No.  Did Branaugh embody Chritie’s Poirot?  No.  Was it a terribly rotten movie?  Surprisingly, no.  Here’s why.

Try to get it out of your head that this is a remake.  Try to get it out of your head that this was a book first with a detective that appeared in a whole series of books previously.  Forget what Poirot looks like, and that Suchet perfectly imitated his mincing steps and egg shaped head.  Now, sit down and take this film as it is.  Take Branaugh’s Poirot completely as Branaugh presents him.  And you get a good, suspense-filled movie with a  “closed room mystery” and a cast full of colorful characters that make you think about life and justice, while giving you chills in the middle of an avalanche and a cold blooded murder scene.  This is what …Orient Express actually is.  And the film does an excellent job of that.

I still like BBC’s Agatha Christie’s Poirot version, for all of the above reasons, and because it feels more realistic.  It has it’s own sense of atmosphere and it doesn’t come off feeling so exaggerated.  But.  Branaugh’s film is to be recognized as being a good drama, too.  It really does not fail.  In fact, I was better able to follow the plot in this one, the motives behind the murder, and the big reveal at the end was far more dramatic than a huddled group in a narrow dining car.  The newer version works to create different change of scenes on a limited stage.  Overall, it took on an artistic, creative flair that was very interesting.

I’ll warn you: if there’s going to be a murder, you might as well expect blood, and there is lots of it.  So, cover your eyes Sally and Johnny and Grandma, too.  In fact, this may not be for you.  In a nutshell: if you crave realism and darkness, choose BBC’s Murder…  If you wish something with a bit more flair and composition, go for Branaugh’s.  Both are recommended.