Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A world-renowned detective must solve a mysterious murder on a luxury train stalled by an avalanche.
The story
In 1934, the world-renowned Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is traveling on the luxury Orient Express train. While the train is stalled by an avalanche, a murder occurs involving a man named Ratchett. Poirot is called upon to investigate the crime amidst a group of diverse passengers. As the train remains stranded, Poirot must navigate the complexities of the situation to identify the killer among the passengers, all while dealing with the isolation of the stalled train and the mystery of the victim's identity.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1934, Hercule Poirot travels on the Orient Express and encounters a man named Ratchett who is being pursued by a mysterious threat. After an avalanche strands the train, Ratchett is found murdered. Poirot discovers that Ratchett was actually John Cassetti, a man involved in a tragic crime involving the murder of a child. Poirot finds evidence suggesting a conspiracy among the passengers, who are all linked to the victims of Cassetti's past. He discovers that they all conspired to kill him together. In the end, Poirot realizes that justice is impossible and chooses to report a 'lone escaped killer' to the police to protect the group, while preparing for his next case on the Nile.
- First release year
- 2017
- Runtime (minutes)
- 114
- Production countries
- United States; Malta
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Kenneth Branagh
- Writers
- Michael Green · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Tom Bateman · Bouc; Kenneth Branagh · Hercule Poirot; Penélope Cruz · Pilar Estravados; Willem Dafoe · Cyrus Bethman Hardman; Judi Dench · Princess Natalia Dragomiroff; Johnny Depp · Edward Ratchett; Josh Gad · Hector MacQueen; Derek Jacobi · Edward Henry Masterman
- Genres
- mystery
- Themes
- justice; identity; sacrifice
- Tone and mood
- mysterious; luxurious
- Premise and plot tags
- whodunit; mystery; detective
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1934 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie
- Franchise connections
- Hercule Poirot film series
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the cast performances and production values, but criticism for the screenplay and redundancy to previous adaptations.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 60% · scale: percentage · review count: 301; Metacritic · score: 52 · scale: 100 · review count: 46; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- One of the few productions in recent decades to have used 65 mm film cameras.; The film featured a meticulously-crafted prop train, built specifically for the movie.; The prop train was purchased and repurposed into a tearoom experience in the Lake District.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…