It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I feel so disappointed with Poirot being a murderer that I cannot aprove this episode. Jamais, mes amis, would Poirot take justice into his hands. I do not find this to be according to his character. And he commits suicide after? But then I realized it was Agatha Christie's decision. And has the story sinks in - I just saw it for the 1st time - I start to gradually be more acceptable towards it all. A killer that never actually kills but is most deadly effective... Police could not legally have done a thing to stop him.Yet, Poirot's little gray cells should have provide him with much better ways to have the evil man rightfully punished without resourcing himself to murder! A DUEL OF MINDS... Poirot could have led the other into an act his true character would be exposed or play with him until he harms no one but himself. That way the death would be by the killer's won hands, not by Poirot's! But that was not Agatha's choice. Being able to write this much adventures for one character must have been very challenging. It was time to Poirot to retire... in a big Bang.I guess that is exactly what happen.Production wise, this episode is as perfect has every previous one. This is one of the most agreeable detective period series ever being made. Lovable scenery, wardrobe, locations, colors, traditions reconstitution... There's a delightful parallel were the audience finds a very old Poirot in a wheelchair, not able to walk and very sick. But the mansion he gets in is has bad has he is. The settings are according to the end of it all. Winter time, rain, huge old mansion, greyish, empty, decrepit... Beauty has seen better days around there. Yet somehow that place still has the ability to take your breath away. You start to wonder what to be that old must be like. To the little gray cells...And that is why I conclude Poirot becoming a murderer just maybe justifiable. That much older and sick I do not know what it feels like. Maybe its plausible. A big part of me still finds it out of character and I'm guessing a religious person has he was would not enjoy opening the way to the «other side» with a fresh murder followed by his own suicide.Plot wise, Agatha's story feels less real because it seems to me people would not be so naive towards such manipulation of their minds, since some where quite suspicious. The way old Poirot ends up drugging a person is also very easy. I was enjoying watching Poirot again.

One has to be a brainless fan of Cristie and Poirot(in either the books or series who are somewhat different) to enjoy this episode.Episode is a faithful adaptation of the book in main story points, skillfully fitted to character of Poirot, with his blinkered morality, as developed in later 'darker' episodes of the series.From moral point of view, lousy logic used by Poirot to justify his murdering, and absolving of other murderers who have freely chosen to commit crimes, testify to either severe deterioration of his much referenced 'little grey cells', or Cristie's ironic revenge after developing a strong dislike for her character's smug pseudo rationality. Adapters did point to rather hypocritical moral compass of Poirot in several of the later episodes, such as 'The Clocks'. However they never seem to have the courage to carry it through to the end in any of them, and always dropped the ball before exposing the absurdity of Poirot's moral pontificating. They succeeded better when there is a distance between Poirot and characters going through a murder induced moral crisis, as in 'The Murder on the Orient Express'.Here too adapters fail to challenge Poirot's irrational murder. Nor do they leave the story at the superficial moral level Cristie displays in books. Unlike her, they raise the moral issues explicitly and seriously, but instead of confronting them in their complexity, they let Poirot getaway with absurdity.By the way, adapters in later part of series tried to imply that Poirot's blinkered morality is due to his pious Catholicism. However some of his moral positions do not fit with the Catholic teachings. If he is confused it due to his brain being confused.Actors were good in the episode, but unlike in almost all episodes in series, up to but not including final season, production design was bad.

"Agatha Christie's Poirot: Curtain: Poirot's Last Case" is so dark that its star, David Suchet, insisted it be shot out of sequence so that it would not be the last image of the role that he and fellow cast members would have. Yes, it's that dark and sometimes, disturbing. The great irony is that, in reality, it was shot just before Christmas. But you won't find any bright tinsel or warm carols or peace on earth here. The old-fashioned bright Technicolor colors and tongue-in-cheek humor of the central character, especially with his loyal friend and helpmate, Hastings (Hugh Fraser), so often on display in Suchet's "Poirot" films over the last quarter-century, are nowhere to be found. It soon becomes apparent, as it was in another installment of this last season, "Murder on the Orient Express," that Suchet himself is on a mission to set the record straight for his beloved character, and especially for Christie herself. In "Curtain," nearly all color has been drained from the pictures. It is a kind of "noir" in which shadows are far more important than splashes of color. And so it is with Suchet's "Poirot" here, and the plot that steals him away for all time. The plot finds an older, infirm Poirot wasting away at a dank old estate, Styles, where Poirot and Hastings have solved their first murder many years before. Hastings, recently widowed, has come to look in on his old friend, Poirot, who by now has a bad ticker and is wheelchair-bound. In the mix is Hastings' daughter (Alice Orr-Ewing), a headstrong and sometimes disrespectful lass who may also be in danger, and perhaps even a suspect, when three people die, apparently by suicide. To say much more would ruin the surprise, but it's clear from the get-go that Poirot will have to rely more than ever before on those "little gray cells" _ and on Hastings. To be sure, Fraser has never been better in the latter role, and again, one senses a deliberate decision to make him an extension of Poirot more than ever before. He has to do the leg work, literally. The finale might upset and even shock faithful "Poirot" fans who have become accustomed to the splashy, whimsical productions of past years. But it's a fascination to watch Suchet, who has read every shred of Christie's "Poirot" writings and become a sort of self-made scholar on the subject, use his full classically trained might in doing what he considers righting the ship before he lets the role go. That alone is worth the price of admission. American viewers will have to do some leg work of their own to see this episode. Masterpiece won't be carrying this finale, at least for now, for whatever reason _ it's to be found instead on the Acorn subscription service that features British dramas. Viewers who take that step also will be treated to a 45-minute question-and-answer featurette from when Suchet appeared in Beverly Hills to promote the series' last season, itself a wonderful tool in understanding and enjoying the entire Suchet-Poirot experience and the perfect companion to the PBS "making of" short about the series. Hats off to Suchet for making a brave decision about a role that took up a good portion of his career, and truth be told, his life.

Ever since seeing Sad Cypress for the first time 10 years ago, I have been a loyal fan of Agatha Christie: Poirot and of Agatha Christie. The series has been a pleasure to watch in so many ways, even when you see an episode countless times you find something more to like further about it and pick up on things you didn't see before. And mostly the quality has been very high, there are a handful of truly outstanding adaptations(After the Funeral, Five Little Pigs, Sad Cypress, Wasps Nest, The Chocolate Box, Adventure of the Italian Nobleman, The ABC Murders, Peril at End House), a few disappointing ones(Taken at the Flood, Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Adventure of Johnny Waverly, Mystery of the Blue Train, Labours of Hercules, none of them are terrible though or below 5/10 on personal ranking) and rest decent to very good(even the much-maligned, but to me underrated, Appointment with Death and Murder on the Orient Express).The 13th season, like most of the seasons in the series(mostly the later ones) hasn't been consistent. Dead Man's Folly and Elephants Can Remember(the latter being much better than the source material)were excellent; The Big Four was mostly enjoyable but let down by the final solution, Simon Lowe and Miss Lemon and Hastings being wasted; and Labours of Hercules was a disappointment, had a number of good things but too dull and jumbled, and like Cards on the Table it tries to cram in too many ideas and didn't develop them enough. Curtain: Poirot's Last Case has been the adaptation that I, and many others most definitely, had been most anticipating, mainly because we wanted to see whether it would a good episode and send-off and that it is based on great source material. The book is very clever and poignant with one of Christie's mot ingenious solutions, an atmosphere that is ominous and poignant, strong characters and a cunning plot.Curtain: Poirot's Last Case does manage to be a good episode and good send-off. No, scratch that, it is wonderful in both areas. Maybe it could have been longer perhaps and the ominous components in the book, while present and well-incorporated, are quite not as powerful. These are nit-picky really, and those aside Curtain: Poirot's Last Case is spot on. Not just the best of the 13th season but possibly also the best adaptation since After the Funeral. "Purists" will be happy that the adaptation is very faithful to the book, in most details, spirit, dialogue, structure and atmosphere. Any changes are very few and very minor.It is a beautifully made adaptation, not as sumptuous as others(Five Little Pigs comes to mind) but it is shot with affection, the period detail is splendid and evocative and the haunting and melancholic look the adaptation adopts, as seen in the colours and how it's lit, fits wonders with the tone of the book and story. Christian Henson's music, which has more of a somewhat cinematic sound to it than Christopher Gunning's, has subtle parts and powerfully orchestrated ones without feeling too intrusive or brash. The use of Chopin's Raindrop Prelude is lovely. The dialogue is very thought-provoking and beautifully written, much of it like it's directly lifted out of Christie's writing. Poirot's treatment of Hastings might be a turn-off point for some in comparison to before, understandably as we are not used to Poirot being like that but it wasn't a problem to me considering the state Poirot is in throughout. And you can still see parts that are reminiscent of Poirot and Hastings in the older adaptations.No disappointment to be seen in the story here. The opening is really haunting and adeptly sets the tone for what was to come, while moving does not describe the ending enough, admittedly I get emotional easily but we're talking about getting-through-at-least-half-a-box-of-tissues quality here. Not only because it's so well done but also the fact that we are saying goodbye to a great series and an iconic detective. Above all, the mystery itself is incredibly compelling, the final solution is still ingenious and you are kept guessing and pleasantly surprised throughout, and the atmosphere/tone of the book is translated faithfully here in the adaptation. The direction wisely doesn't veer between being too theatrical or too low-key, instead the drama is allowed to resonate within the deliberate but never tedious pace while keeping the mystery alive.David Suchet is the definitive Poirot and he hasn't disappointed in any of the episodes of the series. He always is impeccable, but while there is still a little twinkle in the eye and the brilliant mind he is genuinely moving here(Poirot has never been as affecting as here), a tour-De-force, both in how he says his line and physically. It's lovely to see Hugh Fraser again, his role of Hastings being much more substantial than it was to Big Four and it really shows in his performance. There are times where Fraser comes close to out-doing Suchet, there is much more emotion and dimension to what was seen with Hastings before and I'd go as far to say that Fraser gives his best performance of the series, though he and Suchet have always been a joy to watch. The acting is excellent from all, Aiden McArdle(one of the more interesting supporting characters, his mind games have a subtle twisted menace to them), Helen Baxendale, an appropriately sour-faced Anne Reid and beguiling Alice Orr-Ewing standing out.Overall, a powerful swan-song and a wonderful final episode. As much-missed as this truly great series(one of the best of its kind actually) will be, at least there'll be re-runs and the box-sets, so we can revisit it still, it just won't be the same without not having a new episode to look forward to. And it will be criminal if Suchet doesn't get some award recognition for being such a large part of why the series is as good as it is. 9/10 Bethany Cox