A Complete Review of Kenneth Branagh's work

Cast : Kenneth Branagh, Kelly Reilly, Jamie Dornan, Michelle Yeoh

What was it about?
In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer.

My two cents:
To be honest, I have to admit that I was actually pleasantly surprised by the damned thing. In my opinion, even if it was the least successful instalment at the box-office, it was actually the best Poirot feature directed by Branagh so far. Indeed, it was visually pretty neat and the ominous mood was quite pitch-perfect. The other thing that I enjoyed was the fact that, even though I kept reading on the internet that Hercule Poirot was this time involved in some kind of supernatural case, the supernatural aspect turned out to be much more downplayed than I expected which was a relief. Eventually, most of what was supposed to be paranormal was debunked by Poirot who displayed that with wits and common-sense, he could explained pretty much everything that did happen in this 'haunted' house which was pretty neat. Sure, some of it remained unclear and ambiguous but it was exactly the right amount and it never overshadowed Poirot’s cerebral process which should be the whole point of these movies. I have to admit that I figured out who was the murderer fairly early on and it seemed easy to spot on just as it was apparently already the case in ‘Death on the Nile'. It didn’t matter though because the mood was really neat and it was just nice to see Poirot debunking all these supposedly supernatural shenanigans while he was actually also hallucinating himself.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Letitia Wright, Sophie Okonedo, Annette Bening, Rose Leslie, Russell Brand

What was it about?
While on vacation on the Nile, Hercule Poirot must investigate the murder of a young heiress.

My two cents:
I didn’t care much for ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ but, since it was apparently fairly successful at the box-office, they had to come up with a sequel and I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, I did see the older version starring Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot but it was at least 10 years ago and, to be honest, I have to admit that I didn’t remember much about it which is usually not a good sign but, at least, it probably allowed me to appreciate more this new version by and with Kenneth Branagh. Well, I think it was an improvement on ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ both because the story is simply better but also because Branagh, as a director, seemed to be more confident with the material this time around. It was also a nice touch that they took the time to go slightly deeper into Poirot’s background. Eventually, it’s a pity that they didn’t give the same courtesy to the other characters who were all barely developed whatsoever but that’s to be expected when you a have a murder mystery involving almost a dozen of suspects. Concerning the murder case, to be honest, I pretty much figured it all out from the moment Linnet Ridgeway met her future husband Simon Doyle. Since it was all so simple after all, they decided to add two really random extra murders, just to make it all more complicated than it actually was, but I could have done without them. Still, it is, in all the different versions, a better story than the one in 'Murder on the Orient Express'.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds

What was it about?
A young boy and his working-class Belfast family experience the tumultuous late 1960s.

My two cents:
Since I kept hearing some really good things, I had some rather high expectations but, to be honest, I didn’t expect to be blown away like this. Indeed, it turned out to be quite a rollercoaster of emotion. The recent war in Ukraine also added an extra emotional layer as, in any war, the biggest victims are always the children as, any war, civil or not, is something completely incomprehensible for them. Above all, it completely shatters their world as it was clearly displayed in this movie. So, after reading this, you might expect a heartbreaking drama but it went so much further than that. It was also so sweet and displayed that Belfast, before it was destroyed by decades of conflict, was actually a bright community where kids and people lived in peace and harmony in spite of the economic hardship. As a result, as a viewer, you want them to leave as soon as possible because we all know what will eventually happen but it was easier said than done for this family who loved their lives in this city and would have to leave everything behind for a (probably hostile) new country. And, yet, in spite all this, it was often actually quite hilarious because you see everything through the eyes of this funny little boy whose innocence had not been completely tarnished by this dreadful conflict. Of course, you might praise his parents for doing the ‘right thing’ by not taking sides but it is anyone guess how they long they could have remained neutral without facing the consequences. Eventually, the result was Kenneth Branagh himself, a heralded British director and actor who, after all these years, finally decided to look back at this pivotal moment in his life.

My rating: 08/10

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Cast : Colin Farrell, Josh Gad, Judi Dench

What was it about?
Artemis Fowl, a young criminal prodigy, hunts down a secret society of fairies to find his missing father.

My two cents:
Well, after ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’, I’m afraid it was another pathetic attempt from Kenneth Branagh to launch a new franchise. Eventually, by releasing it on their streaming platform, it seems that Disney dodged a bullet because it is pretty obvious that it would have been a major flop if it would have been released theatrically. To be honest, I have to admit that I wasn’t really familiar with the book it was adapted from but, with ‘Thor’, Branagh already tried to make a movie mixing our world with a 2nd fantasy world. However, here, this mix never worked though. I mean, after maybe 20 mins, we finally got to see the fairies world but this first glimpse was just so abrupt, it pretty much came out of nowhere and it felt really awkward. Another issue was that all the kids involved gave some rather weak performances, especially Ferdia Shaw. But, above all, the biggest issue was that I was so bored from the beginning until the very end. Apparently, they did remove the thing that sounded the most intriguing about the books, the fact that Artemis Fowl II was a 12-year-old prodigy who had dedicated his life to criminal activities, leading in the process the Fowl criminal empire. Basically, he was supposed to be a bad guy which did sound pretty cool but this idea was unfortunately completely cancelled in this adaptation.

My rating: 05/10

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Unfortunately, I haven't seen this one yet...

Cast : Kenneth Branagh, Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Penélope Cruz, Derek Jacobi, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Olivia Colman, Willem Dafoe

What was it about?
Hercule Poirot, the best detective in the world decides to leave on the Orient Express. The train accidentally gets stopped because of a small avalanche. Little did he know that a murder was planned, and that a person on this train was able of committing such crime.

My two cents:
First of all, I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of this story. Indeed, in my opinion, there are too many characters involved and I always thought that the twist ending was rather disappointing. Well, with this new version, even though it was not bad at all, Kenneth Branagh didn’t really manage to make it really spellbinding to me, I’m afraid. At least, the damned thing really looked gorgeous and there was once again a stellar cast involved. Unfortunately, I still think that there are too many characters and, as a result, none of them was really developed. Furthermore, since there were so many characters, it seems that Poirot had to make his deductions out of thin air just because there is simply not enough time. To make things worse, Branagh didn’t really nail Hercule Poirot in my opinion. Indeed, the tricky thing with this character is that he has to be funny but not completely ridiculous but, in this case, even if he wasn’t as pathetic as inspecteur Clouzot, it wasn’t far from it, to be honest. Eventually, I’m actually rather surprised that this movie did so well at the box-office but I have to admit that it was still watchable, even if it still felt like a rather useless remake.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Helena Bonham Carter, Stellan Skarsgård Derek Jacobi, Ben Chaplin, Hayley Atwell

What was it about?
When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her scheming step-sisters. Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger.

My two cents:
Apparently, the guys at Disney seem to have found a new successful concept which is to release some live action versions of their most famous fairy tales. This time, they didn’t even try to add a new twist like they did with 'Alice in Wonderland' and with 'Sleeping Beauty' and they pretty much gave the most straightforward adaptation you could think of. However, since they still wanted to reach a respectable running time, they had to stretch everything a little bit longer than actually necessary but those additions didn’t really improve the whole thing, I'm afraid. At some point, Mark Romanek was actually supposed to direct the damned thing but, as usual, he dropped off because of the usual creative differences but I can’t help wondering what he would have done with the material. Fortunately, it remains watchable and fairly entertaining thanks to some decent visuals and a Cate Blanchett perfectly cast as Lady Tremaine.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh

What was it about?
Jack Ryan, as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.

My two cents:
To be honest, I was really amazed by how underwhelming the whole thing turned out to be. I mean, it’s not that the whole thing was poorly directed or the actors involved were awful, it’s just that the story barely worked in my opinion. In fact, if you would take all the scenes separately from each other, they were usually decent but, together, it was frankly quite a mess. For example, in the introduction, we get to see how Jack Ryan got badly injured, especially his back, during the war in Afghanistan. They really took their time to show how messed up he was, how difficult it was for him to walk again which was fine. However, during the 2nd half of the movie, you get see the guy jumping around, doing some very physical stunts and fighting some bad guys along the way which was also fine on its own but it really clashed with what was displayed at the beginning. I could go on and on but it is just clear that it was a rather weak story, or at least, that it was really poorly written.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo

What was it about?
The powerful but arrogant god Thor is cast out of Asgard to live amongst humans in Midgard (Earth), where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.

My two cents:
First of all, I thought that Asgard looked very impressive with some awesome special effects and they managed rather well to mix the lyrical Asgard with our more pedestrian Earth. Furthermore, Chris Hemsworth was also very well cast and gave a convincing performance. Still, the whole thing didn't really convince me. I mean, if you remove Asgard and all what happens there, the whole thing took place just in a small place in New Mexico and that was it. So, the scope was rather small and it wasn't what you could call a great and awesome adventure. Furthermore, I think it is quite a shame to have such a great actress like Natalie Portman playing such a thankless role. On top of that, I didn't believe in her relationship with Chris Hemsworth and there was frankly not much chemistry between them. Eventually, I still think it was not bad at all and rather entertaining but don't expect anything really mind-blowing from it.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Michael Caine, Jude Law

What was it about?
On his sprawling country estate, an aging writer matches wits with the struggling actor who has stolen his wife's heart.

My two cents:
First of all, I have to admit it, even though I have an extensive knowledge about movies (by now, I have seen more than 5500 movies) , I still haven’t watch the great classic directed Joseph L. Mankiewicz so I can’t compare both versions. On the other hand, the fact I hadn’t seen the original version probably allowed me to appreciate more this remake. Anyway, I thought that both actors did a really good job here. Above all, in my opinion, Michael Caine's performance was seriously quite mesmerizing. As usual with Kenneth Branagh, the directing was really solid but this movie was really about the actors involved. And, yet, even though the whole thing was a rather intriguing picture, I guess it was still missing something completely win me over.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : a bunch of unknown actors

What was it about?
During World War I, in an unnamed country, a soldier named Tamino is sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina from the clutches of the supposedly evil Sarastro. But all is not as it seems.

My two cents:
This must be easily Kenneth Branagh's most obscure and least accessible movie I have seen so far (as a matter of fact, it hasn't been released in the US at all, not even on DVD). Indeed, it is an adaptation of the famous opera written by Mozart and I must admit that the music and songs were really awesome. However, it remains an acquired taste since there are barely 5 minutes of conventional dialogues and more than 2 hours of almost non-stop bombastic operatic singing. After a while, it thought it was rather tiresome and, honestly, I got a little bit bored. Furthermore, I'm not sure if I did get all the story, it has probably to do with the fact that I wasn't familiar with this operatic language but I'm pretty sure that the plot doesn't really matter with this genre. I guess I'm not a fan of opera in general and it is probably one of the reasons why I didn't really enjoy the whole thing but since I'm always interested in new experiences, I still found it a very intriguing watch.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Bryce Dallas Howard, Romola Garai, Alfred Molina, Kevin Kline

What was it about?
Rosalind, the daughter of Duke Senior, is raised at the court of Duke Frederick, with her cousin Celia. She falls in love with a young man named Orlando, but before she can even think twice about it, she is banished by Duke Frederick, who threatens death if she comes near the court again.

My two cents:
It was Kenneth Branagh's 5th Shakespeare adaptation but like most of the work he made in the 2000's, it was barely seen. There is actually much to enjoy here. Indeed, the whole thing looked pretty gorgeous with some very nice use of colors (just check the poster) and Bryce Dallas Howard never looked better. They made also an interesting choice to keep the original text which was sometimes a little bit hard to follow (I’m French but I saw the movie in English with Dutch subtitles...). Still, the language was pretty impressive and there was some pretty huge monologues, all respect for the actors involved. Still, I can’t say it was really amazing though. Indeed, I really didn’t care much about the story. Basically, it started as a drama but then, suddenly, it became a very frivolous (and rather boring) comedy. Furthermore, I didn’t really dig the whole thing about the girl disguised as a boy while nobody recognized her. I thought it was pretty tedious and not really interesting. Still, it remains a well made Shakespeare adaptation.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Alessandro Nivola, Alicia Silverstone, Natascha McElhone, Kenneth Branagh, Matthew Lillard, Emily Mortimer, Timothy Spall

What was it about?
An update of the classic Shakespeare story, director Kenneth Branagh shot this movie like a classic 30s musical. The film tells the story of four best friends who swear off love.

My two cents:
After being really productive, it took this time 4 years for Kenneth Branagh to come up with a new directing effort and he started the 2000's with yet another Shakespeare adaptation. It definitely belongs to his most obscure work and it took me years to find this on DVD. The end-results was ok but nothing much more than that, I'm afraid. I mean, first of all, except for Branagh, you have a B cast (see above) and they were not bad but compared to the all-star cast of 'Much Ado About Nothing' or'Hamlet', it was definitely another kind of ball game. So, the story was kind of weak, it mixed Shakespeare with some musicals songs and dances, a whole bunch of things which I'm not really fond of so, even though I have the utmost respect for the endeavor, I can't say I really enjoyed it.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Kenneth Branagh, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Richard Attenborough, Billy Crystal, Judi Dench, Gérard Depardieu, John Gielgud, Rosemary Harris, Charlton Heston, Derek Jacobi, Jack Lemmon, Rufus Sewell, Timothy Spall, Robin Williams

What was it about?
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.

My two cents:
This is another movie I was eager to watch for ages. Seriously, I think it took me about 20 years to finally watch the damned thing. I have to admit that, even though I really wanted to see it after all this time, it was still worried about watching a 4 hour Shakespeare adaptation. Indeed, I managed to watch the huge director’s cut, also shot in 65mm (unfortunately, not on wide theater screen but on my own TV) , it was quite a marathon and, at the end, I have to admit that I was rather exhausted. Still, we should praise Kenneth Branagh for providing the ultimate adaptation of one of the most famous plays written by William Shakespeare. Yes, it was the very first time that someone tried to adapt all the text and all the dialogues and even though the idea of getting 4 hours of non-stop Shakespearean dialogues might sound pretty scary, it actually worked very well. Indeed, the whole thing was quite fascinating. On top of that Branagh always had a passion for the genre, he managed to have a top cast here and they all delivered some really strong performances.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Joan Collins

What was it about?
Out of work actor Joe volunteers to help try and save his sister's local church for the community by putting on a Christmas production of Hamlet, somewhat against the advice of his agent Margaretta.

My two cents:
A year earlier, Kenneth Branagh made ‘Frankenstein’, his biggest and most ambitious project so far but it was rather poorly received (personally, I thought it was not bad though). Apparently, he was eager to make something much smaller and this movie definitely achieved this goal. Indeed, for the first time in his directing career, Branagh didn’t cast himself and I must admit that it was quite refreshing, especially after ‘Frankenstein’ which was pretty much a massive ego-trip. Anyway, basically, it was a rather simple movie, with a simple story with some decent characters but I thought it was quite entertaining.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Kenneth Branagh, Robert De Niro, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Hulce, Aidan Quinn, Ian Holm, John Cleese

What was it about?
When the brilliant but unorthodox scientist Victor Frankenstein rejects the artificial man that he has created, the Creature escapes and later swears revenge.

My two cents:
When it came out, more than 20 years ago, I actually saw this flick at the movie theater. Back then, the expectations were pretty high but it was not very well received. Indeed, this movie has a rather poor reputation but I think it is actually pretty good. First of all, I just love how baroque and decadent the whole thing looked like. Furthermore, in my opinion, the cast provided some good performances and I especially enjoyed John Cleese who was barely recognizable and, for once , he wasn't funny whatsoever but he was still pitch perfect. And obviously, it is and remains a classic but it is still quite a fascinating story. However, I have to admit it, the movie does lose some steam and focus especially during the 2nd half. On top of that, the whole thing did seem to be a huge ego-trip for Kenneth Branagh (he was the director, the lead actor and he spent way too much time without his shirt on showing off his marvelous abs). Eventually, it is indeed far from being a masterpiece but I still think it is an interesting and entertaining adaptation.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Kate Beckinsale, Imelda Staunton, Keanu Reeves, Robert Sean Leonard, Michael Keaton

What was it about?
Young lovers Hero and Claudio, soon to wed, conspire to get verbal sparring partners and confirmed singles Benedick and Beatrice to wed as well.

My two cents:
To be honest, it has been ages since I saw this flick, if I recall correctly I saw it in the movie theater when it was released so I must have been about 14 years old at the time. Maybe that’s why I had a hard time to connect with this flick, the fact that I was quite young. Anyway, I remember it very well, at the time of its release, it was critically heralded and one of the few Shakespearean adaptations that managed to be successful at the box-office. There was a really nice cast (see above) so the whole thing sounded really promising. Unfortunately, even though it was fairly entertaining, I thought the promising production was terribly fluffy. Of course, you might argue that it was written this way by Good Old William Shakespeare himself but, in my opinion, the story and the characters involved were rather shallow and not really interesting.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton

What was it about?
Six former college friends, with two new friends, gather for a New Year's Eve weekend reunion at a large English countryside manor after ten years to reminisce about the good times now long gone.

My two cents:
I remember very well the first time I watched this flick. Back then, I was just about 13-14 years old and my older sister brought this movie on VHS (yeah, that was a long time ago…) at Christmas and, at the time, I think I had never seen anything like this before, a movie with no real plot but purely based on some realistic 3 dimensional characters and about their relationships with each other. Back in those days, Kenneth Branagh was one of the most promising directors around. Coming back to our main feature, I have to admit it, it was nothing really ground-breaking but there was such a delightful cast and they all delivered some solid performances. Above all, I thought the whole thing was really funny and quite smart and it was really refreshing after watching so many moronic comedies.

My rating: 08/10

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Cast : Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Andy Garcia, Derek Jacobi, Robin Williams

What was it about?
An amnesiac and a private eye find they might have a past life connection.

My two cents:
It is basically one of these typical preposterous thrillers that they used to make back in the 90's but this one actually really worked, at least, for me. The whole thing was obviously inspired by Hitchcock’s work but in a good way and it didn’t stop there as there was also some reincarnation involved and not one but two romances. Indeed, back in those days, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson were definitely a golden couple and they had some very nice chemistry together. I guess it might seem odd to see these two British actors playing some American characters (in fact, it would be the only movie set in the US for which Branagh would play the lead) but I thought that they were both pretty convincing. Above all, the tale, even if it was really far-fetched, was quite entertaining and even the ending, which was seriously campy, didn’t bother me since it did fit with the rest of the movie. Eventually, out of the 4 movies Branagh and Thompson would make together, it was definitely one of the best but I still think I prefer ‘Peter's Friends’ which is terribly underrated in my opinion.

My rating: 08/10

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Cast : Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane, Christian Bale, Judi Dench

What was it about?
In the midst of the Hundred Years' War in 1415, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France.

My two cents:
Obviously, there was no way that Kenneth Branagh would start his directing career with anything else than a Shakespeare adaptation. Back then, when it was released, it was a big critical success and, 25 years later, it is still considered as one one of the best Shakespeare film adaptations ever made. Indeed, Branagh went for a grittier and more realistic approach than other versions and he was praised for making the whole thing quite accessible to the mainstream audience. To be honest, I was probably too young the first time I saw it so I wasn’t really able to fully appreciate it but it was still a decent watch, no doubt about it. At the end of the day, I think you really need to be fan of the genre to really get into the whole thing but I will certainly give it another shot at some point.

My rating: 07/10