Death on the Nile (2022) / YMMV

Alternate Character Interpretation: Is Jackie a cold blooded murderer who was carefully planned out the deaths of three people and set up her lover to marry her best friend JUST to kill the woman and claim her money? Or is she a fragile woman slowly losing her mind and desperately trying to keep things from falling apart?
- When Jackie and Linnet talk and she begins to cry is she truly coming to question her decision to kill Linnet? Or were they crocodile tears?
- Was Simon and Jackie's fight all staged to ensure NO ONE linked them? Or was it Simon revealing his true feelings for the woman that forced him to sleep with another woman and killer her JUST to gain more money?
- Were Jackie and Simon truly in love or was Simon using Jackie just as he had used Linnet and was planning on abandoning her once he was rich and had no more need of her?
- Who is the real Linnet? Is she the vain and self-centered woman so many of her "friends" think she is? Or are they allowing their own misfortunes color their views of someone who just happened to be there at the time?
Aluminum Christmas Trees: In the Distant Prologue, dated 1914, Poirot's captain's orders state to set off all of their gas canisters before the attack, despite poison gas being first used on the Western Front in April 1915. Less-lethal tear gas was used in 1914, which also explains their lack of concern when removing their masks before the gas fully dissipates.
Captain Obvious Reveal:
- From the start, it's blatantly obvious that Jackie masterminded Linnet's death, considering how it was set up in the first act. The fact that the murderer is the husband who stands to inherit everything and his ex-fiance who he abruptly dumped before his marriage to a rich woman is also not exactly a motive even regular police in the real world would miss.
- When a character mentions her supply of red paint is missing, you know someone is going to use it to fake blood, so Simon faking his gunshot injury is immediately obvious.
Ensemble Dark Horse:
- Even people who didn't like the film admitted that Dr. Linus Windlesham was one of most interesting characters in the entire film, bolstered by Russell Brand's surprisingly restrained performance and the amount of depth his character was given.
- Rosalie and Salome. The former for being a tough as nails young black woman who knows all the tricks white people use to keep black people down and already having a plan. Salome for being a smart and sassy singer who helps Poirot in the final act.
Memetic Mutation: Gal Gadot's reading of, "Enough champagne... to fill the Nile!" was widely mocked. It's often mashed together with lines from other movies she's been in, creating: "Kal-El! I need you to give me enough champagne to fill the Nile!"
Narm:
- Poirot's Dark and Troubled Past, where his iconic mustache is revealed to be covering scars he suffered in World War I, is widely mocked for being far too absurd a concept for viewers to take seriously, not helped in the least by how it's plot which Book Ends the film. It's even sillier if you even know the slightest about how scar tissue works, because it shouldn't even be possible for him to grow a mustache with the scars on his face.
- Gal Gadot's portrayal of the classy socialite Linnet Doyle reaches its apex with the immortal line "Enough sham-pain to feel denial!"
Narm Charm: With the exception of the kite-flying scene at the pyramids, some viewers find the obvious soundstages and green-screen effects to have an old-fashioned effect on the visuals, similar to early filmmaking, which is appropriate to the time period.
Nightmare Fuel: In the climax, having witnessed the death of his best friend Bouc at the hands of Simon and Jackie, Poirot’s demeanor during The Summation when he reveals the identities of Linnet's murderers is positively enraged. He even wields a gun during this moment and has the staff gather the remaining guests into one room and lock the doors while he blocks the only exit, showing that he is done playing games.
Older Than They Think: Poirot being clean-shaven was done before with Austin Trevor, the first actor to ever play the detective, in the 1931 film version of Alibi.
Special Effects Failure: In a giant step backwards from the amazing effects of the previous film or the location photography of the 1978 original, it's pretty noticeable when CGI backgrounds are being used, making some shots - for example, Bouc "flying a kite from halfway up a pyramid" - feel unconvincing and almost like a TV ad.

YMMV / Death on the Nile (2022)

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