I've seen several Poirots come and go. Mr. Ustinov, although a wonderful actor with a great personality, never quite captured Mr. Poirot's dainty nature. Mr. Finney, while capturing some of Poirot, came across as much too aggressive, I thought. I love the late Tony Randall, but Poirot? No. David Suchet, to me, completely embodies my idea of Hercule Poirot. Clearly he has this part down to perfection. He never, even for an instant, steps out of character. He even has something of an oval head. Like the late Joan Hickson, Mr. Suchet has turned up in other Christie movies, but I think Mr. Jackson makes a much better Japp. The entire cast works very well together, although in the books we don't get enough Hastings. The staging too, is right on. The clothing, the automobiles, furniture and homes; motorboats. However, the one disappointment for me is that most of these episodes are one hour long and so utterly simplistic in nature that I have the case solved long before even the great Hercule Poirot can get a grasp on them. I enjoy watching them for the atmosphere and the characters, but I'm always left depressed by the simple plots, which I realize, in a short story or film can't get too complicated. For those reasons, I love the Hercule Poirot gang, but I only enjoy those episodes that are adapted from the full-length novels. These have much more complicated plots and give the viewer food for thought as M. Poirot glides smoothly from one suspect to another. I do believe that when Mr. Suchet retires, they should retire the Poirot character. Joan Hickson was the absolute embodiment of Jane Marple. Those who came before her were only so-so and for those who come after, the same. Not that any of them were or are bad, it's just that they're can never be the one and only Jane Marple. One other gripe: The writers really don't have to have M.Poirot refer to the little grey cells in nearly every episode.
Review of Poirot
