Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of an old woman which happened during a flight from France to England - a flight on which he was also on board! The victim seems to have been killed by a poisoned dart shot on her neck, and Poirot's investigation takes him (along with Inspector Japp) to Paris, where the woman lived.
Before seeing "Death in the Clouds" and without having read the book, I was under the impression that the action would be almost entirely confined inside the plane, but no - the murder happens there, but most of the action takes place on land (and most of it in Paris). There is ingenuity in the way the murder is carried out, but some of the coincidences revealed by Poirot at the end to explain the motive seem a bit strained. The pacing is also quite deliberate (this is a feature-length episode). Nevertheless, the production (including the Paris location shooting) is up to the usual high standards, and the cast is well-chosen; in the absence of Captain Hastings, Inspector Japp gets a lot of screen time and has some good moments, and Sarah Woodward, as an air stewardess who was also on board the same flight, makes a very likable sidekick for Poirot. (***)
Before seeing "Death in the Clouds" and without having read the book, I was under the impression that the action would be almost entirely confined inside the plane, but no - the murder happens there, but most of the action takes place on land (and most of it in Paris). There is ingenuity in the way the murder is carried out, but some of the coincidences revealed by Poirot at the end to explain the motive seem a bit strained. The pacing is also quite deliberate (this is a feature-length episode). Nevertheless, the production (including the Paris location shooting) is up to the usual high standards, and the cast is well-chosen; in the absence of Captain Hastings, Inspector Japp gets a lot of screen time and has some good moments, and Sarah Woodward, as an air stewardess who was also on board the same flight, makes a very likable sidekick for Poirot. (***)
