Opened December 25, 2009 | Runtime: 2 hr. 14 min.
PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images and a scene of suggestive material
I can in all honestly say, this is not your mother’s Sherlock Holmes!! At least, not my mother’s. She and my stepdad went to see it and didn’t much care for it (and they love action-adventure movies.) My mom said she thought it was weird, hard to follow, and didn’t really come together til the end. Well, that last part is actually true to the original Sherlock Holmes. But not much else is.
I bet you didn’t know Sherlock was a hard-bodied street boxer, did you?! He was sporting some serious abs back in merry old Victorian England! Which, while I visually VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!, still thought was… uh… ODD.
And that was how I found this movie. Odd. Like a bunch of guys were sitting around and said “hey, let’s make a big, blockbuster, action movie. Where should we set it?”
“Outer space?”
“Done.”
“Egypt in the ’40s?”
“Done.”
“How about Superheros?”
“Done.”
“Hey, I know! No one’s done Victorian England! How about that guy with the pipe and weird hat?”
“Dude, that’s brilliant!”
And then they got the man of the hour to sign on and developed it from there. It’s like Ironman meets Charles Dickens.
You know who I would have LOVED to see play Sherlock Holmes? Johnny Depp! Now THAT would have been more entertaining than just the shirtless scenes.
But alas, I’m not casting (yet) and so let’s go back to what I had to work with.
I really liked Jude Law. He was a perfect foil to RD Jr. There’s an old married coupledness to them that I thought worked really well. These are two men who work and live together, their completing each other’s sentences and nit-picking over tiny annoyances created some very enjoyable banter.
While I really like Rachel McAdams in general, I didn’t care for her in this one. I think she was miscast. Sorry, but I do. I loved her in The Time Traveler’s Wife and especially The Family Stone. But this felt more like they needed a big name for the marquee and she’s a current “hot” actress. I would have preferred Emily Blunt here. I think she has the amount of sass needed. (Look for her in the upcoming Young Victoria, she’s already generating MAJOR Oscar buzz and it hasn’t even been released yet!) Ah, in a perfect world all casting directors would consult me first!
My overall review: I liked it because a) Robert Downey Jr + no shirt = Niiiiiice! b) I’m an action-adventure junkie who basically likes all movies in this genre and c) did I mention RD Jr’s abs? Cause they are like washboard perfect! And I didn’t think I was really into him like that… so this was like an educational experience. And I love it when a movie is also a teaching tool!
Sherlock Holmes movie website
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Tags: Jude Law, Movie Review, Rachel McAdams, Robert Downey Jr, Sherlock Holmes
Sorry about all the mis-types in this one! This is what happens when I write a review while sipping a glass of Chardonnay and watching an Intervention marathon on A&E!
Thanks for correcting ‘em for me, Pam!!
If I remember correctly from Lit class, Sherlock Holmes was sanitized for the masses in film.
So I am interested to see this angle.
I love Robert Downey Jr. and will definately see this.
Did anyone read The Mouse on Baker Street as a kid? It was a series about a mouse who lived in SH’s home and did his own sleuthing with his own Watson type. Really cute.
I can never see this film!
I’m the ultimate Sherlock Holmes fan–I’ve read every book so I know that this action film would just kill me. Long live 221B Baker Street!
I still want to see it because there have been a lot of his movies that I liked and no one else did. I don’t have high expectations here! RD Jr could just be standing there chopping carrots for all I care….as long as he’s shirtless! LOL
Craftymom – this may just be the movie of the decade for you!
Sure sounds like it!
Tiffany, I was just reading the New Yorker magazine review and their take was similar to yours.
I think it would be worth seeing for the Downey-Law pairing.
Even though I haven’t read all the books, I am a little disappointed that film producers today need to make every movie into “Mission Impossible.” I appreciate a cerebral mystery and wish they had taken the film more in this direction. I also smell a franchise in the making and find that kind of annoying for some reason.
Trixie – “Mouse on Baker Street” sounds cute.
Tiffany – will you be reviewing “Young Victoria”? I was lucky enough to see it (I guess it’s still in limited release?). Emily Blunt is GREAT in that movie.
Anya,
Absolutely! I adore Emily Blunt and am anxiously awaiting “Young Victoria” to hit our local theaters!! I’m super jealous!!!!! Now I REALLY can’t wait to see it!
I watched this movie yesterday. I have to say, I’ve always pictured Sherlock as an old smart guy with a pipe, but Robert gave a whole new image of the famous detective; he is funny, smart, strong, and not as old as I imagined.