Ah Sherlock Holmes, the latest film from Silver Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment. Well, the first thing to say about it is that it’s not quite as bad the trailer wants you to believe. Yes, this is a drastically different take on the famous British literature ensemble, but it is not a vision that is necessarily too awful. This basically means director Guy Ritchie and producer Joel Silver didn’t totally molest, embarrass, and violate the property like hmm, let’s say… Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg with the Transformers franchise. All and all this film will entertain anyone looking for a “buddy-cop” comedy affair at their local theater. Essentially Sherlock Holmes is the British version of the Rush Hour movies with Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan only the writing is far better and everything is set in the period of the industrial revolution. Of course there is no swearing or repetitious racial stereotyping like Rush Hour, but the overall feeling of “bromance” between Downey Jr.’s Holmes and Jude Law’s Dr. Watson is pretty convincing and rather entertaining. The main aspect of the film which teeters it on the edge of good and bad is the plot and what a ridiculous plot it is. About an hour into the film, one could believe that they might be watching a film where Sherlock Holmes may confess himself to be the first Ghostbuster, who’s art would be carried on in the 1980′s by Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd in the battle against the Stay-Puff Marshmallow monstrosity. However, the writers of the film at least explain all the supernatural hubbub in the last five minutes during a strange sword fight. Isn’t big budget movie making just cute?
With a plot so ridiculous, it is almost a crime to recap it for a unknown audience. Here it comes, whether it makes sense or not. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. James Watson are detectives for hire by day and kung-fu masters by night. They take a variety of cases from missing persons to the simple “someone put something in my drink” cases. However, after falling in love with the woman of his dreams, Dr. Watson is choosing to relinquish his title as detective and normal life of family, medicine, and probably malpractice. Mr. Holmes, still having warm feelings for his male companion, takes on an ultra-mega case from hell where he must save the people of London from the evil psuedo-necromancer by the name of Lord Blackwood. The rest of the film is essentially Sherlock and Co. attempting to stop magic from killing the people of London and beyond.
YAY:
- Robert Downey Jr. is really proving himself to be the new “it” actor. His take on Tony Stark in Iron Man transformed him as an actor and ever since he has been doing a pretty damn good job of carrying films. His portrayal of the great detective is very convincing and dedicated to this re-imagining. Sherlock is a genius with amazing deductive skills and that makes him socially awkward and quite pompous, therefore who better to fit in his shoes than the guy who brought Tony Stark to life with ease?
- This film is really the first big budget picture that Guy Ritchie has ever done. He is best known for his low budget and gritty British crime films like, Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, but he clearly shows that he is ready for the big leagues. His camera work is sharp and he certainly knows how to showcase human emotion to his audiences. Regardless, Ritchie trusts in his writers and committed himself to making a Sherlock Holmes movie even though he beats people to a pulp, one karate chop at a time.
- The best aspect of the writing in Sherlock Holmes is the lines of dialogue that loom around the faceless character of Moriarty. Though he is not a main character or villain in the film, he is definitely lurking in the background throughout and you can not help but wonder what the hell he is doing while Holmes is trying to take down Blackwood. If there is a sequel to this, then I literally can not wait for the showdown between these two brilliant minds.
NAY:
- The supernatural events that take place in the movie are so ridiculous that when they are explained it is even more mind-numbing. This is all the more annoying considering the fact that you find out in the last five minutes that Sherlock figured out most of it far earlier on in the film…he just didn’t care sharing it with the audience until he could monologue with the villain and Ritchie could give us a SAW-like reveal of how everything that Blackwood has done is possible.
- Though most of the fight scenes are cool, I still cringe when Sherlock Holmes kung-fus someone in the face. It’s not the fact that he is doing it, it is the fact that it is never explained how a British detective learned asian martial arts. Watson can kick-ass because of a boxing past which is referenced in a quick line of dialogue but as to the crescent kicks of the detective, no mas. I hope Moriarty figures out this mystery by the next movie.
When it comes down to the question of “does this film warrant my full price ticket”, I would say no. It is definitely a matinee to see with friends after having a few beers at the nearest restaurant. If you want to laugh at the plot or the witty dialogue than this is the movie you want to go see with a holiday crowd. However, there are more pressing movie-going matters that all audiences are obligated to do….GO SEE AVATAR. After that you can see Sherlock Holmes.
Just watched this on Blu-Ray, and I liked it. It looks very good on Blu-Ray as well.
I’ve seen more than a share of kung fu movies and I think his fighting prowess is explained by his ability to read people and his knowledge of human anatomy. I only distinctly remember him throwing something like two kicks throughout the entire movie. One to someone’s testicles and the other to a man’s stomach (kicking down a door style). He fights like a scrappy street fighter who just knows where to hit to cause serious damage.
While the reveal at the end wasn’t completely favorable, if he revealed he knew beforehand the rest of the story wouldn’t have worked. It’s a plot hole yes, but I think it also went along with his character and how Watson said he was psychologically messed up for following a man who never shared his plans.
I’d also be more surprised if there wasn’t a sequel.
Kimbo Slice is a scrappy street fighter and he never does wu-shu holds or karate chops. There are a few wu-shu blocks in the fight club scene and progressive amounts of karate chops throughout. He can know the human anatomy but that does not mean he would pick a chop instead of a punch. Boxers train in the art of reading their opponents and Watson does not show a hint of Holmes’ martial arts skills. Its just the ridiculous direction they went with but you can’t deny that every time he fights its a WTF? moment.