Sherlock Holmes Review - …Dear Watson,

 

It’s elementary. Is it? Sure it is! Elementary movie mathematics:

Two big movie stars + One big movie director = Blockbuster

Well, they got the equation right, so what went wrong? Don’t misunderstand me, I loved this movie. I loved watching Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

(Robert Downey Jr –who will forever be referred to as “Iron Man”)

 

(Jude Law – heard he was in Barbados in December 09)

I was happy to see Mark Strong again. (i.e. that guy “Septimus” from Stardust and “Archy” from Rocknrolla. Don’t you just love him?!!). He played the not-as-sinister-as-they-thought-he-came-across-as Lord Blackwood.

(Mark Strong – who looks better with hair)

And I loved that they got England at that time right – foggy, a little gloomy. That is a lot to love in a movie now-a-days. I’ve loved movies with far less going for them (for e.g. Torque – don’t ask. I actually bought the DVD from Walmart.).

What I did not like was the fact that my posse and I were fighting sleep while we were watching Sherlock Holmes. That does not bode well for an action flick. Was it an action flick? Not really; more accurately, it was a Sherlock Holmes movie with action. And it was 100% a Guy Ritchie film. Had his mark stamped all over it. (The only Guy Ritchie film I have seen that I did not like was the one with Madonna.)

So I went into this film as a fan of Guy Ritchie, Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. (A fan of their bodies of work that is.) And coming out of the film, I still love them but I thought the film could have been better. Sherlock Holmes is a thinking man’s mystery and there was no real mystery here. I was figuring out the plot as it went along. Harry Potter has more mystery that this Sherlock Holmes flick.

Why make a film on a well-loved detective famous for solving mysteries; and make the movie short on mystery?  I don’t have an answer. I wish I did. (Come to think of it, most detective tv series have more mystery.)

Taking the whole “lack of suspense” thing into consideration, the rest of the film was pretty good, well acted, well shot and directed…a feast for the eyes. Aren’t they too cute? (See poster below.)

My verdict – Go watch it. There is plenty to love (or deeply like).

Want someone else’s opinion, check out what a more experienced movie critic had to say: Sherlock Holmes review on Big Thoughts from a Little Mind.

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