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Sherlock Holmes (Downey, Law, McAdams) - Grading & Discussion

Grading

  • Total voters
    82
Just got back from it, my grade:
EXCELLENT

I'm not one drenched in Holmes lore. I read about 2/3 of Baskervilles in 8th grade for Lit class outside of that Data is the closest Holmes I really know.

I was pleased that the story was tight. The deductive aspects continual throughout and the brotherly aspect firm without being, ahem, questionable. The final cut seems to have taken out the overly tounge in cheek moments like Irene:"They've been flirting like this all day"

The comparison to Batman Begins is fitting but its more Iron Man really. That revelation doesn't kick in until the final act. What was actual done here was that Moriarity is in fact a smoky figure(albeit actually seen in shadow) like the presence of Mandarin is via the terroist group Ten Rings.
Joker is only set up in Begins in the final seconds with the card. Moriarity is set up from about Act 2 and Mandarin is(as of now presumed) to be the head of the Ten Rings.

I had planned to see this on Sunday with a friend, and still will, so seeing tonight with another separate friend was a surprise to me and I look forward to seeing it again in 15hrs. Thank god she doesn't want to see Avatar, once was enough for that acid trip of plot riddled problem of a movie.
 
Given the big box office success, I think it's safe to say that RDJ is back (and perhaps bigger than he ever was before). I'd say his "Iron Man" phase is comparable to a post-Pirates of the Caribbean Johnny Depp: actor approaching middle age with a history of straddling the line between matinee idol and quirky character actor suddenly finds himself toplining a smash hit and with a potent mix of critical and audience cred.
 
^ Well for Downey's sake I hope he picks more Depp projects and less Cage projects.

I wish the proposed "Hardy Men" movie about the grown-up Hardy boys with Cruise and Stiller was with Cruise and Downey instead.
 
Anyone think Mark Strong looks like a mirror universe love child between Andy Garcia and Stanley Tucci?
 
Saw it yesterday with the Fam.

I give it "above average". Disparities in accents didn't jump out at me as they might others.

I particularly liked the portayal of Holmes as being somewhat autisic, or something- particularly the restaurant scene before Watson & Fiancee show up. A friend tells me in the books Holmes is a cocaine addict, which this film does not allude to I don't think, but he is clearly someone who is struggling with some issues.
I love the stuff with him plucking the violin.
"Good evening, Clarise" :)
 
I gave it an above average as well.

As for the more action oriented Holmes, it fits. He is referred to in the books as an attendant of Gentleman Jim's boxing establishment.
Watson always had his service revolver handy and knew well how to use it.

I really enjoyed it. It was truer to the books in many ways than some realize. And even without stating the cocaine use that was a factor in the books, they displayed it well in other ways, a problem was there and it was a problem.
 
I hadn't expected to see it again so soon but I did just now. Back to back days and I found it fun and engaging all the same. It will be added to my DVD collection.
The friend I went with noted that Hans Zimmer used some of the chords from his Pirates score mixed in here with some nuance to make it slightly different. She loves Pirates. It was the section where Holmes escapes by jumping out of the window and into the Thames.
 
Captain Craig said:
The comparison to Batman Begins is fitting but its more Iron Man really.
Click to expand...

Holmes- Who the hell are you?

Allan Quatermain- "I am Sherlock Holmes" you think you're the only brilliant detective?

Holmes- What do you want?

Allan Quatermain- I want you to join "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"
 
Captain Craig said:
The friend I went with noted that Hans Zimmer used some of the chords from his Pirates score mixed in here with some nuance to make it slightly different. She loves Pirates. It was the section where Holmes escapes by jumping out of the window and into the Thames.
Click to expand...
Zimmer is notorious for riffing (some would say literally ripping) off his older scores. Pirates features plenty of elements from his previous films including (so I'm told as I am not familiar with these scores) Gladiator and The Rock. That doesn't mean Zimmer's scores aren't fun -- or even emotionally moving at times. I really, really enjoy the Pirates scores. But that's one of the reasons Zimmer generally isn't highly regarded by the "movie music community."

As for Sherlock Holmes, I'm still trying to decide whether or not to get this score. I actually didn't pick up on the fact that it was Zimmer while I was watching to movie -- though, after the fact, it's easy to see the similarities between it and some Pirates cues. And there's a nice whimsical, lightheartedness to much of the score itself. I'm just not sure yet whether or not its worth the $10 from iTunes.

And the 30 second snippets aren't helping me decide. :p
 
The Sherlock Holmes score was disappointing, even by Zimmer standards. I usually really enjoy Zimmer (his Batman scores are amongst my favorite scores ... his work for Hannibal is also a fav) but this was just substandard and generally weak. The tracks, which are unusually short, feel very uneventful and boring. It's unfortunate since his Angels & Demons score earlier this year is one of my favorite movie scores of 2009.

As for the film, I haven't seen it yet. I'm still waiting because I promised I would see it either with my girlfriend or cousin, whomever I see first I guess. I'm really looking forward to it, despite the mixed reactions.
 
Average. I was disappointed by this film.

Downey and Law are good to be sure. MacAdams always looks great and the Moriarty stuff was cool. But I found the story to be convulted, way too long, incoherent, and boring. Downey does an effective British accent but that unfortuneately means like most Brits, he renders his words incoherent.

Another weak spot is the performance of Mark Strong. He doesn't give a bad performance mind you but a role like that needed for the villain to stand out more and Strong does not accomplish it. There's just nothing interesting about his character at all. He's not even an effective heavy. Being one-dimensional would have actually made him interesting.
 
I went into this movie with zero expectations and was pleasantly surprised. It was fast and action-y without going on overload, and it was different without completely bastardizing the source material.
 
I gave it an "excellent". I grew up watching Basil Rathbone Holmes movies and then moved on to reading the books while the Jeremy Brett series aired on Channel 13 as part of "Mystery". I even watched "Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century" just to see what they would do with the character. With such a smattering of Holmes background, I was happy to see so many bits of influence from the print stories and other incarnations of Holmes. And thank you to Guy Ritchie for giving us a competent Watson as he should be instead of the bumbling fool Hollywood has portrayed him as in the past!

I'm definitely going to try to see this one more time before it leaves theaters. :)
 
I saw the movie yesterday and enjoyed it very much. I wonder if those who complain about Holmes' fighting in the movie have actually read the books -- he was described as a great fist-fighter and skilled swordsman.
God Magnus said:
And thank you to Guy Ritchie for giving us a competent Watson as he should be instead of the bumbling fool Hollywood has portrayed him as in the past!
Click to expand...
Precisely! Watson, I recall, is described in Study in Scarlet as tanned and war-wounded -- a man of action. And while he continually fails in deduction in comparison to Holmes he's certainly competent.

I think the thing I found most hysterical was the fact that the whole puzzle was solved via a drug-induced hallucination!
 
Where did the idea of Dr. Watson carrying a sword sheathed in his cane come from? Did the makers of the film get John H. Watson confused with Ham Brooks?
 
ToddPence said:
Where did the idea of Dr. Watson carrying a sword sheathed in his cane come from? Did the makers of the film get John H. Watson confused with Ham Brooks?
Click to expand...
I don't recall him carrying anything other than his revolver in the books, but it wouldn't be particularly out of character, I think, for him to have such a weapon. Watson was a war vet in the books -- tanned from his extensive stay in Afghanistan and overly thin from a year of illness. To me he seemed far truer in this movie than the obese and doddering version portrayed in most movie adaptations!
 
I rated it as average.

I was somewhat disappointed. I though that the way the main character was portrayed was rather generic, he just wasn't Sherlock Holmes to me. He was just a "Joe Bloggs, Super Detective' and could have been given any name.

I did like the portrayal of Watson.
 
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