So I went to see "Sherlock Holmes" today because I couldn't pass up the chance to see one of the most iconic characters in literature portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., one of my favorite actors. Also, I'm lonely and have nothing else to do on Christmas.
I'll just come out and say straight away that the experience was underwhelming. It's not a bad movie, by any means, but it wasn't really Sherlock Holmes. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law play interesting conceptions of Holmes and Watson, respectively. However, this movie is not a mystery; it's an action flick.
Right from the start the movie is more fast-paced and acrobatic than any previous incarnations seen of Sherlock Holmes in movies or books. Holmes has always been a multi-faceted individual, but in this movie he's practically Batman, while Watson plays a very capable Boy Wonder.
I know Holmes is a master of deductive reasoning, but the previous movies, as well as the books, always had some sort of methodical progression. They showed Holmes actually being a detective. In "Sherlock Holmes," everything is solved through a few forensic television show zoom-ins and then explained afterwards in one breath by Holmes. A couple of times Holmes has these flashback montages of previous scenes in the movie. I'm guessing this is the movies' way of showing Holmes "figuring out" the pieces of the mystery.
As I said, it's all an attempt to make the movie more actiony(yes, I'm going with "actiony."), and it works. It's a decent action flick with some colorful characters and the always entertaining Robert Downey Jr.. If you like action movies, you'll probably like it. If you're a ferocious Sherlock Holmes purist, perhaps you won't.
Dammit, "action-oriented," why didn't I say that?
No comments:
Post a Comment