'Sherlock Holmes': The Hollywood Version
Mike Cremer
Issue date: 2/8/10 Section: Entertainment
These days, Hollywood seems to be fairly content with turning classic novels into action-focused films while hanging on by a flimsy strand of faith to the source material. My initial feelings about the new "Sherlock Holmes" film were that it seemed to do exactly that-focus way too much on the action scenes and not give enough screen time to the mystery and suspense that made Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's London-based series famous. In all honesty though, I was pleasantly surprised with the final product.
The film is essentially the beginning of a series of films. It chronicles Holmes' investigation of a mysterious man named Lord Blackwood who appears to cheat death by escaping from the tomb made for him after he was pronounced dead. From that point on, many political figures begin to mysteriously die, and it is up to Holmes and his partner Watson, played by Jude Law, to get to the bottom of each murder.
The acting from Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes) and Mark Strong (Lord Blackwood) is excellent. Even though Downey is from America, he pulls off a fairly convincing Holmes, and he fit the character quite well. Strong is just downright scary as Blackwood; the audience gets the feeling that he actually has some kind of supernatural power that has allowed him to cheat death.
My main gripe about this film is that the mystery takes a backseat to the action. I am a huge fan of Doyle's work, and I loved reading classics like "Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles." Unfortunately, director Guy Ritchie decided it would attract a larger audience if the film focused more on Holmes' ability to physically defeat his enemies. While it is implied in the novels that Holmes is a capable fighter, I still believe that Ritchie should have been more faithful to the source material. The mystery, suspense and symbols in the novels keep the audience guessing, but it felt like this element was missing from the movie.
"Sherlock Holmes" has excellent acting, beautiful visuals and a compelling story. However, the action sequences took over most of the movie and the story suffers because of it. It is still a very solid movie overall. In the end, though, I believe it is worth a rental and not a purchase when it comes out on DVD.
3/5 stars
The film is essentially the beginning of a series of films. It chronicles Holmes' investigation of a mysterious man named Lord Blackwood who appears to cheat death by escaping from the tomb made for him after he was pronounced dead. From that point on, many political figures begin to mysteriously die, and it is up to Holmes and his partner Watson, played by Jude Law, to get to the bottom of each murder.
The acting from Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes) and Mark Strong (Lord Blackwood) is excellent. Even though Downey is from America, he pulls off a fairly convincing Holmes, and he fit the character quite well. Strong is just downright scary as Blackwood; the audience gets the feeling that he actually has some kind of supernatural power that has allowed him to cheat death.
My main gripe about this film is that the mystery takes a backseat to the action. I am a huge fan of Doyle's work, and I loved reading classics like "Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles." Unfortunately, director Guy Ritchie decided it would attract a larger audience if the film focused more on Holmes' ability to physically defeat his enemies. While it is implied in the novels that Holmes is a capable fighter, I still believe that Ritchie should have been more faithful to the source material. The mystery, suspense and symbols in the novels keep the audience guessing, but it felt like this element was missing from the movie.
"Sherlock Holmes" has excellent acting, beautiful visuals and a compelling story. However, the action sequences took over most of the movie and the story suffers because of it. It is still a very solid movie overall. In the end, though, I believe it is worth a rental and not a purchase when it comes out on DVD.
3/5 stars
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