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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would be amused...

jbeswick
Rating:
+2
 ... while spinning in his urn, most likely. Robert Downey Jr once again proves himself to be the best actor of his generation and without him this movie would limp along, and its inconsequential paper-thin plot would be much more grating. Perhaps the biggest crime in the film is that Holmes - as a 2-dimensional vehicle for awesomely-intriguing detective tricks - is given a really lousy case that relies on some massive leaps of logic and an almost physic predictive ability.

I still enjoyed the movie, mainly because of RD Jr, but there were some real weaknesses, such as...
  1. Rachel McAdams, who has zero charisma for the role. Bad casting.
  2. The overbearing music, which I must have noticed a half dozen times.
  3. The drab direction - great sets, CGI and costumes covered with lackluster camera moves.
  4. Terrible geography - yeah, I grew up in London so I'm biased, but running up the stars of the House of Commons doesn't lead to the Tower of London.
  5. Coincidence: overall, the way in which the black magic is explained is pretty weak - I was hoping for a little more realism that the voodoo-meets-technobabble that the audience is given. The guy who bursts into flames - due to an odorless flammable liquid sprayed into the courtyard like rain - well, wow, that was a huge example of lazy writing. 
  6. Varying Holmes' fighting capabilities - in one scene, he practically kills a guy in two seconds; in others he struggles for no reason other than to drag out the sequence.
  7. A brutally predictable plot.
  8. A confused bad-guy agenda that could have been lifted from Pinky and the Brain (step 1: take over the world).
  9. An unbelievable femme fatale subplot.
  10. Postponing an answer to a major story question until the sequel.
Given a character so ripe for a complex crime caper, they took the easy route and spoon fed the audience with a routine we've seen a thousand times before. But the Fighting Holmes works relatively well, his deductive approach is fun to watch, and the art department did a great job in creating Doyle's London. Mindless and fun entertainment - but die-hard Sherlock fans are not going to be happy.
jbeswick

Thanks for reading my review. What did you think?
 
Helpful
 
35
Thought Provoking
 
32
Fun to Read
 
34
Well Organized
 
34
I'd been looking forward to this one so much, although it was hard for me to envison Downey as Holmes I've always liked him and was interested in seeing how he would pull it off. And then I saw the previews. And read the reviews. Oh well. I guess I'll wait for NetFlix. I like the way you laid out your review on this one.
On January 30, 2010
Reply
Thanks - I'm a fan of the 10-bullet point approach (though somehow I hit 11). I think this will be good value on Netflix.
On January 31, 2010
I do too. Very helpful!
On January 31, 2010
 
I'm a HUGE Holmes and RD Jr. fan. But as soon as I saw the previews I had decided I'd wait for the rental to come out. Your review confirms my decision, thanks.
On January 05, 2010
Reply
 
I was going to watch this one but decided on Young Victoria instead. I think I will wait for the video.
On January 05, 2010
Reply
 
I liked Rachel! As as for predictable, I knew in vague terms but wanted to see how the director would pull off the "resurrection" of the bad guy. I thought the film was quite clever. Don't compare it to the early films though. I gave it a four star for humor and intrigue.
On December 30, 2009
Reply
I agree it's not really connected with the earlier films... I once saw Jeremy Brett doing Sherlock in a stage play - it's was pretty dark full of opium addiction, etc.!
On December 30, 2009
Actually I know a Holmes fan who really liked the film. Her preference is still Jeremy Brett's version. I've only seen one of those, quite well done. I understand about your knowing geography. When a movie has a chase scene in San Francisco, I am saying "They can't get to that hill from over there, what??" So I hear you. Yeah, it was mindless entertainment but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Good review.
On December 30, 2009
 
Very accurate! Thanks James for recording this one....
On December 30, 2009
Reply
 
way to break it down! short sweet and to the point.
On December 30, 2009
Reply
Thank you Sir - preferred your review though, since you pretty much got all the detail down perfectly!
On December 30, 2009
 
Haha, way to break it down, James!  I'm surprised by your assessment of Rachel McAdams though, because I've loved her in everything else!  #4 is hilarious, it's like that one TV special that Rachel Ray hosted about Berkeley eateries where she said something like, "and then from 4th St, you can just take a stroll to Shattuck".  Um... that's at least a two hour stroll.  If I ever watch this, it'll probably be on DVD or TV.
On December 30, 2009
Reply
Rachel McAdams just doesn't fit this role - I've seen her in other things and not thought she's bad at all. #4 is pretty bad coming from a British director! :-D
On December 30, 2009
True that on #4. Pretty bad coming from anyone, but especially for a native. You'd think they'd do more research and somehow figure that distance into the script or something. By the way, did you notice that a couple of your reviews were mentioned in @jrjohnson's newsletter yesterday? Awesomeness! :D
On January 05, 2010
I did! My 15 minutes of fame is coming (let's hope it's not been eek'ed away 5 seconds at a time so far!).
On January 09, 2010
 
I like the way you listed the negatives of the film in a manner that was easy to read. I'm also glad that you listed a few positive aspects of the film as well. Thanks for the review.
On December 30, 2009
Reply
Thanks! It was fun but let's hope they juice up the inevitable sequel...
On December 30, 2009
You're welcome. Yes, no doubt it will spawn a sequel. I assume the people behind the film will want to squeeze every penny poosible out of Sherlock Holmes (and Robert Downey, Jr.) fans :)
On December 30, 2009
The movie industry pattern is following the book industry - sequels and existing talent eventually become 95% of production.... scary. Avatar was greenlit on a sequel within 3 days of $$$.
On December 30, 2009
Yeah, I read somewhere that James Cameron had the sequels planned already but wasn't going to pursue them unless this first Avatar film did well. It's unfortunate, but hopefully those sequels will be good.
On December 30, 2009
What they didn't mention is that 75% of the models/CG work will be carried forward, so sequels wouldn't be much more profitable. Of course, that's if Cameron just does the same thing all over... which is unlikely given his track record!
On December 30, 2009
I see. Yes, that is unlikely.
On December 30, 2009
 
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A 2009 film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional character of the same name

Sherlock Holmes (2009 movie)
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Sherlock Holmes
is a film starring Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law and Rachel McAdams.  The film will be released on Christmas Day 2009.

Sherlock Holmes is a 2009 film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional character of the same name. The film was directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. The screenplay by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg is based on Lionel Wigram's story and Doyle's characters. Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law respectively portray Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The film was released in the United States on December 25, 2009 and on December 26, 2009 in the UK and the Pacific.


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Attributes

Studio: Warner Bros Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures
Genre: Action & Adventure
Release Date: December 25, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13

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