DrMilind Ovalekar

In my opinion, this is the best of the three Hercule Poirot movies made by Director Kenneth Brannagh. Absolutely enjoyable. All the major names are well utilised for the purposes of the plot. Emma Laird does a good enough job, which is simply amazing considering that she happens to be a 'badass' vegan.

Watched it a couple of days back. Seemed good. The premise remained hidden right up to the "moment of revelation". Influenced by negative reviews and especially by the negative "aura" surrounding its launch; I had decided to give viewing it on the big screen a pass. The same negative reviews made me wonder how the script could've been polished further. But, on deeper analysis, everything seems perfect. About the only shot/ beat that could be improved upon would've been to show the Pugh character attending to an "all-wired-n-tubed up" patient in the Intensive Care Unit, and then the exact same fate awaits her, instead of the crude setup actually shown in the movie. That would also explain away how she is physically "taken care of". Another matter, trivial or non-existent, is some "dumbing down" of the Headquarters shots reveal, so that the average (dumb) movie-goer actually understands it! They should've cleared that out during the test screenings, whether or not such an extra explanation is required or not, so a missed opportunity there if this wasn't actually the case. Nevertheless, these are just trivial wrinkles, it isn't any serious glitch in the matrix that'd ruin the movie's prospects. Basically, the movie as it exists now is good enough to stand on its own; and should've done at least three times the business it collected in its initial run. After watching it on the small screen, I felt in retrospect that I had missed out on an excellent morning/ evening resulting from a big screen watch. So, what gives? This is the most egregious instance of self-sabotage I've seen in recent days. A perfectly good property was tarnished, and had its financial and artistic merits hobbled, perhaps due to petty foibles. If there had been perfect harmony going into the launch, minus all that negative pre-publicity, (which may have also influenced the creation of negative buzz and meh reviews), then surely it'd have been seen in an entirely different light, and been evaluated on its own artistic merit.

Just a wholesale regurgitation of the original Matrix movie, rehashed with a pretentious coda to compensate for the sub-par dialogue. Maybe the WB studio execs were trying to see if wringing the Matrix theme some more would churn out a fistful if dollars. The end result is not edifying, not even an iota.

Don't really mind all the reviews panning this film. It's essentially good, wholesome entertainment for the entire post-modern family; with a suitably post-modern twist, and some feminist take, on the classical story. All said and done, it's a refreshing angle that keeps the ancient tale evergreen, and fresh as a daisy. And, if you're a pop music lover, it doesn't get boring at all. Just don't try to dissect this movie for some analytical insights, or intense performance (s); because the twist in the tale is the new spin on the old fable, of a girl wooing a career instead of a prince, which doesn't seem to have enthused the reviewers one bit. The director and his team have placed this in the zone of fun viewing, and that promise is fully met. After nearly a couple of hours of this film's runtime, you can't deny that you've been properly and thoroughly entertained, which is all that really matters.