MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (2017) Movie Review

John 8:32: "And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (NLT)

Coincidence is a hard thing in which to believe.

Even harder to believe is a myriad of coincidences in one place. A single train harbors twelve people all affected by a single crime. All broken. All angry. All craving revenge. Which one of them would act upon such a grim desire?

Romans 12:19: "Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, 'I will take revenge; I will pay them back,' says the Lord." (NLT)

Such is the infamous mystery of Agatha Christie's Murder On The Orient Express. Detective Hercule Poirot happens upon a gruesome murder while traveling from one job to another. He is the only person on the train qualified to solve the case. He is the only person in pursuit of complete truth. Thus, his investigation is thorough.

"There is something about a tangle of strangers pressed together for days with nothing in common but the need to go from one place to another and never see each other again." (Hercule Poirot)

The investigation proceed down a dark and morbid path. Poirot discovers the victim, Edward Ratchett, is anything but innocent. He is a murderer of children. Few crimes in the world can claim to be less heinous than that.

Each suspect is equally affected by the unjust and untimely end of Daisy Armstrong. Some are relatives. Some are employees and friends of the Armstrongs. Some are associated through the investigation and trial. Eleven lives ruined because of one man's evil deeds.

Hercule Poirot is the opposite of Ratchett. He is an intelligent man. He is an observant man. He is an honest man. He is a just man. Above all, he is merciful. His actions improve the lives of others.

The world is an unfortunate place. There is evil, and there is good. There is honesty, and there is deceit. There is revenge, and there is justice. There is murder, and there is compassion. We don't get to chose what befalls us. However, we get to chose our own actions.

A decision is made on the Orient Express to meet murder with murder. Instead of mercy, the perpetrator chooses revenge. Instead of forgiveness, the perpetrator chooses the murder. The perpetrator chooses the same path as Ratchett.

What kind of person do you chose to be?

James 2:13: "There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you." (NLT)