Guy Ritchie brings us his vision of the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams. In the film, Holmes and Watson finally bring in a serial killer and alleged sorcerer Lord Blackwood. Blackwood is tried and executed for his crimes.......or so they thought. When Blackwood mysteriously returns from the grave and starts a new series of murders, it's up to Holmes and Watson to end the madness once and for all.
Let me start out by saying how much I love the cast of this film. Robert Downey Jr. is one of my all time favorites and was really pleased when I heard he would be playing Holmes. Sadly, a great cast doesn't always call for a great film. From the moment it started I found myself bored and counting the seconds until it was over. Sherlock Holmes has such a small, simple almost non-existent story, that they have to make up for it by covering it up with never ending dialogue and a few over the top action sequences. If this is the best mystery story they can come up with, I truly hope they think twice about doing a sequel which is already being talked about.
On top of the pitiful excuse for a story, Holmes character was horribly and completely wrong. In the novels, Holmes is this smart, cunning detective. In Guy Ritchie's adaptation, he has turned him into a arrogant, sloppy, obnoxious, UFC fighting detective. I think they really swung and missed on trying to get a "new" style of Holmes to the big screen. Rachel McAdams, who I normally love, was a complete waste in the film. They gave her character no depth, hardly any background and forced her in and out of scenes.
I think this is a potential franchise, but Guy Ritchie is not the guy to head these films. It seems that every film he makes, he has to have shirtless guys fighting in slow motion, and in this film for no reason. There is a scene where Holmes is more or less in a nineteenth century UFC ring fighting a guy for no apparent reason. Ritchie needs to stick to the fast paced mob movies he has been successful with and steer clear of classical literature characters who have been beloved for decades. I was not impressed, nor did I enjoy one single moment of this film so I am giving it a one out of five.
Posts
I agree. With its favorable opening, this movie will produce at least one sequel. Here's hoping they bring in a new director and new screenwriters for the next one. It would be a shame to miss so wide of the mark again. I really think the combination of source material and cast is there for this movie to be good, but I think Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich could have collaborated and done a better job of making this movie than Ritchie.
ReplyDelete