Single-sentence review of Sherlock Holmes

Actually what really peeved me were the critics. One of the local critics in Tampa – forget which paper – complained about McAdams’ performance as Irene Adler, specifically her lack of a Brit accent. Damn critic didn’t know that Doyle wrote Adler was from NEW JERSEY – and Adler even quips about it in the damn movie! And I’ve seen other critics complain about having Holmes as a boxer/martial artist when in stories like Sign of Four it spells out Holmes is a bare-knuckler and he mentions in another story – forgot which – of knowing a Japanese wrestling move. Gahh! IT’S CALLED RESEARCH YOU IDIOTS! Try reading some of the relevant stories before you complain about the movie(s) based on them!

Reply

All in all, that’s how you do an action-y Holmes story. Retains enough of the cerebral while still livening things up a bit (and no disrespect at all to those who prefer the older stories, but, so long as its done well, I see no reason not to give one of literature’s seminal figures a new lease on life beyond just being an archetype; of course, this is from someone who religiously watched “Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century” as a child).

Good character interaction, which mainly means they got a good Holmes/Watson dynamic. And bless them for having Watson actually be useful and not some fat old fool who Holmes tolerates to tag along with him. The stuff with Irene was a bit borderline in places (though I did like them showing exactly how she got the drug in the bottle without him noticing), though you come away seeing that Rachel MacAdams would indeed be a good choice to play Selina Kyle (which is clearly the basis for the character’s role here), something that’s been bandied around a lot.

Period detail was generally good, from what I saw (though that gathering of men at the end wasn’t large enough to be one house of Parliament, let alone both, which seemed to be the suggestion).

Minor pet peeve: Blackwood is constantly referred to as “Lord Henry Blackwood”, and said to be a member of the House of Lords. But that’s not an appropriate style for a member of the House of Lords. Titled individuals are referred to as “Lord ____”, or “Personal Name, Title Whatever”; first names are never interposed like that. “Lord Henry Blackwood” would be a style appropriate for the younger son of a Duke or Marquess (the eldest and heir would have a courtesy title of his own), not someone who actually holds a title of nobility.

Reply

I almost fell asleep during this movie. There was no real mystery to speak of, we know who the villain is the whole time, and I knew all of the “black magic” was just chemistry as soon as they showed the chemistry lab. The only part I thought was well done was when Holmes was changing his disguise while following Irene.

Reply

I don’t know who first came up with the “speeded up old film clip” style of flashback, but I want it to stop. Other than that, I thought it was a fun movie. Clever, a new interpretation on a classic character that doesn’t reinvent things it doesn’t need to, and able to lampshade some of the questions an audience would have (such as why Watson would put up with Holmes when he can be so unpleasant at times) without seeming fundamentally unsure of its source material.

Reply

More faithful to “The Canon” than 90% of Holmes movies. Downey was a good Holmes and Law was a better Watson. Quibbles… but no complaints.

Reply

YES AWESOME DIALOGUE.
Did anyone else feel like the Holmes-Watson dynamic might have been influenced by House-Wilson on HOUSE?
I know, House is himself inspired by Sherlock Holmes. But the “Holmes ‘forgets’ his pistol because he knows Watson will come running after him with it and Watson totally knows this but totally does it anyway” thing really reminded me of House-Wilson.

Also- the entire movie I was SURE that the villain was played by Andy Garcia (even with all the closeup shots and everything). I’m kinda creeped out that two people can look that much alike.

Reply

Well the slow motion thing happens only twice or so, and the underground boxing scene happens early and is over quick.

Reply

But what of the warts, MGK? Tell them of the warts!

Reply

I was thrilled to see Kurrgan appear in the film. I met him once way back when, and he’s actually a genuinely nice, likable guy.

Reply

I’ll be fair to Phil–the trailer to a movie is designed to make you want to watch it. If he saw the trailer and said, “Ooh, that doesn’t look like something I want to watch,” then that’s his decision and nobody is allowed to gainsay him that.

That said, Phil, you could probably cut together a trailer that’s entirely witty dialogue, Holmes being deductively brilliant and clever things happening. It’s just that they were too chicken to do it. 🙂

Reply

I gotta say

I liked this movie a lot better than Avatar

Superior story and character, see.

Reply

Dayv – I found the lack of good mystery-solving moments to be entirely true to the source, at least. I loved Holmes dearly before other loves eclipsed it, but I was always mildly irritated by the way Holmes kept most – if not all – relevant/interesting observations to himself until the Crucial Reveal.

That said, there would be nothing wrong with rising above Doyle, as the film did by showing more Watson-is-highly-intelligent than Watson-isn’t-as-brilliant-as-Holmes.

Reply