Sherlock Holmes Reviews?- Page 2

[BWF]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 8:59pm

Robert Downey Jr. was unbelievably vital and charming as Holmes. Jude Law was a refreshing and a thoroughly new Watson, as a team they were great, charismatic. To be honest I didn't think Law was capable of such a stellar performance, but the film was over-long and badly paced.

Updated On: 12/28/09 at 08:59 PM

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 10:25pm

Well, I'm famous for my bad taste in pretty much everything (favorite musical? The Scarlet Pimpernel) but I thoroughly enjoyed this movie! I was grinning from ear to ear for huge chunks of it. Robert Downey Jr. was brilliant, and Jude Law was actually a great Watson-- their chemistry made the movie. I wasn't quite sure what Rachel McAdams was going for-- pretty sure valley girls didn't exist back then-- but she sold me in the end.

Agreed about the pacing... and the score. I still have that main theme in my head-- but I always like a Hans Zimmer score. I thought it would be important that Coward's eyes kept changing color from dark to light, especially after Holmes drew attention to Blackwood's eyes, so I was so focused on that throughout the movie that I missed several important clues. I did guess immediately who was in the carriage with Irene, though!

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 10:57pm

Very good. 5.5 out of 7 people in my group liked it. It was dark, funny, and suspensful. Any Oscar shots are for Visual Effects, Editing, Cinematography, Costumes, and Art Direction.

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 1:35am

What I loved:

- The costumes. Oh, the costumes. Can we talk about that lovely blue dress Mary was wearing near the end? <3

- The music.

- The casting of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. I thought they worked well together and because of them the movie worked.

- The end credits.

What I didn't love:

- Rachel McAdams' character. I sort of got the point as to why she was there, but she seemed tossed into the plot.

There were parts that quite frankly I found a bit boring and hard to sit through. However, the action scenes were exciting and fluid, which made up for those less than desirable parts.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 1:46am

Two things that PerfectlyMarvelous' post reminded me of? Yes, the costumes and closing credits were fantastic, but what I found funny was that the photo that came up in the credits with the costume designers' name was PerfectlyMarvelous' avatar, RDJ handcuffed to the bed, naked but for a strategically placed pillow.
Updated On: 12/29/09 at 01:46 AM

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 1:52am

I chuckled a bit when that picture came up next to costume designer. I wonder if that was intentional or they just slipped that in at last minute's notice.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 2:40am

No way in hell was that a mistake.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 9:26am

I have a question-- why was Irene wearing boy's clothes for the last several scenes? I just didn't see a sensible reason (unless it's in the Holmes stories-- I didn't read the one where Irene Adler is introduced.)

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 11:50am

She was known in her own way for her disguises (usually men or boys), but this was one of those things I was talking about that made me think that explanation is somewhere on a cutting room floor.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 5:59pm

We saw it today & it was immensely entertaining. A sequel is obviously alluded to which will have to go some to top this.Very enjoyable ride & Downey is great as an very unconventional Holmes.Law is equally good as Watson.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 6:44pm

How in the world is he an unconventional Holmes? He's almost exactly as portrayed in the books.

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 6:47pm

I loved the movie... except Rachel McAdams' acting. Definitely the worst I've ever seen from her.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 7:10pm

ghostlight - I agree. I am just starting to read the stories and the portrayal of Holmes in the books is almost identical to the one in the movie.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 7:12pm

I've never read the books but reading up after I saw the film the general stuff was definitely there. I don't think Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler was terrible, just underwritten and if there is truly a sequel, like the ending led me to believe, then I hope we know more about her. I thought it was good to show her more than a flirt at the end as a very smart woman who's intellect is on par with Holmes (it's why she was the only woman he cared about). Anyway I loved the rapport between Downey and Law, and I will say they had the best chemistry in the film.

It was entertaining but I had my issues. One, the explosion scene as Lord Blackwood escaped. Too slow and indulgent. Two, little backstory on Lord Blackwood and the secret society. I actually didn't find Guy Ritchie's direction to be sub-par for the storyline, except the explosion scene, but I did have problems when the screenplay very quickly gave us backstories on the characters in less than 30 seconds. I can live with that when it just Mrs. Hudson but Lord Blackwood needed more backstory.
Updated On: 1/2/10 at 07:12 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 7:21pm

To Ghostlight

He is not the normal Sherlock most people know from the Basil Rathbone/Peter Cushing portrayals plus numerous others who have played the role. They include Frank Langella, Charlton Heston & Paxton Whitehead.

Updated On: 1/2/10 at 07:21 PM

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 7:24pm

Yeah, I wonder why they changed his feisty personality for those other movies/tv shows.

[wonkit]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 8:28pm

I saw it today and was disappointed with the movie as a whole. Downey is energetic and fun to watch, and Jude Law is gorgeous and gives the Watson character a lot of depth. I thought the plot was complex without being particularly interesting, so I was bored through much of the first half. The last third of the movie picked up in pace even though the ending was ruined by the clear build-up to a sequel. Rachel McAdams is my least favorite of the new crop of actresses and I found her annoying and unsympathetic in virtually every scene she was in. More an action movie than any sort of mystery solved by clever deductions. I would recommend waiting for the DVD.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 8:33pm

Plus, Robert Downey Jr does not physically resemble Holmes-- he's supposed to be very tall and angular with an aquiline profile. But I thought he was fantastic, even if he didn't look quite how I imagined the character.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/3/10 at 1:16am

"A sequel is obviously alluded ..."

A sequel? To a movie? Based on a series of novels? To quote you, incorrect punctuation and all, "Really - Who would have thought."

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 1/3/10 at 2:55am

"He is not the normal Sherlock most people know from the Basil Rathbone/Peter Cushing portrayals plus numerous others who have played the role. They include Frank Langella, Charlton Heston & Paxton Whitehead".

No, he is not the Sherlock people are used to seeing on screen, Roxy, but I don't get how that makes him unconventional. The books came first, IMO, that makes the screen Holmes that follow unconventional. I found it really funny that out of all the choices you could have used as an example, you included Charleton Heston, quite possible the least likely Holmes ever, when you had all these to choose from:

William Gillette, Robert Stephens, Johnathan Pryce, Edward Woodward, Patrick Macnee, Rupert Everett, Peter O'Toole, Matt Frewer, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Plummer, Roger Moore, Nicole Williamson, John Barrymore, Jeremy Brett. Michael Caine, John Cleese, Raymond Massey!, and many, many more. None of them came closer to a truer representation to Holmes than Downey (again, IMO).

Glad you're enjoying the books, spiderdj. This movie made me pick them up again.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 1/3/10 at 6:08am

Yeah, after I went and saw the movie, I went to Barnes and Noble and picked up the hardback of volume 1 for $8 :)

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/3/10 at 1:14pm

NAMO

I was talking about a sequel to a movie that is an original story . It was not based on any novel previously written. It really wasn't that difficult to comprehend but for you I guess it was.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 1/3/10 at 2:25pm

"Yeah, after I went and saw the movie, I went to Barnes and Noble and picked up the hardback of volume 1 for $8 :)"

Great price! I was lucky - never got rid of mine, so they were right on the shelf.

Love RDJ in this. I'll watch him in anything (okay, not Ironman). So glad he pulled himself out of his downward spiral. I had despaired of that for awhile, certain he was going the way of so many before him. Glad he pulled it together - such a talent.

[wonkit]

Posted: 1/3/10 at 9:41pm

Speaking of Iron Man, the trailer for the Iron Man 2 movie was shown with Sherlock Holmes, and I have no desire whatever to see that sequel either, although I enjoyed the first movie. Downey certainly is working regularly.

[GuitarGirl]

Posted: 1/8/10 at 5:32pm

spiderdj82: I did the exact same thing. I've started, but haven't gotten very far yet. Not because it isn't good, though.

As for the movie...a little long, but I loved Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson. Personally, Watson was my favorite. And the whole scenery of London was great to look at. All in all, a good movie. Worth the watch.