Sherlock Holmes 2009
Sherlock Holmes is one of the great characters of all time. The problem is he is also very familiar and, because of his success, there have been tons of movies and TV shows about private detectives that are like him, including eight seasons of Monk, about a detective with similar powers of observation. So it isn’t easy to do Sherlock Holmes all over again, even though he is the origin of the entire genre. Robert Downey does his best to present a Holmes with all kinds of failings and missteps, but this is also kind of an action hero Sherlock Holmes too. I can’t remember Sherlock Holmes ever taking his shirt off, but Downey doesn’t miss a chance to show off his rippling muscles.
They gave the movie an interesting look, somehow capturing a sort of a bohemian steampunk look on sepia-edged celluloid. That part really works. But the movie seems a little too storyboarded somehow as the characters fall from one big action set into another. The soundtrack is very noisy, but Holmes speaks very low and very fast, so I missed a lot of what he was talking about even when I replayed some scenes. The amazing powers of observation are usually saved for intense moments of clarity where Holmes flashes back to all of the clues he has picked up at once. But this kind of thing also subverts the slow tightening of the noose that you like to see in a detective movie.
Still, the bottom line is the movie is fun to watch. Jude Law’s Dr. Watson is a key partner but also seems pretty drab. Rachel McAdams is very good, though, as Holmes’ femme fatale, and looks absolutely fantastic. So while the movie isn’t what I expected or hoped for, it was still worth watching.
Written: 07 Aug 2010
Owned on: Blu-ray, Digital