I have been soooooo......
lazy! And very uninspired. All that Holiday!Time wasted! Well, not completely wasted. I went to see Sherlock Holmes right after it came out in the theatre.
(Warning: Serious Fangirling ahead!)
I LOVED IT! OMG! RD naked! Well...as near as anyway! Wonderful. You can definately tell he works out. AND Jude Law....well, he really knows how to fill out a pair of trousers, doesn't he?!!!
LOL!
There was a ton of humor in this movie that I really enjoyed. I'm still snickering over Holmes' comment to the chambermaid when she found him handcuffed naked to the bed. And Watson's poor dog! We wouldn't even mention the prison yard scene with them bickering like an old married couple...*grins*.
The film score was fantastic. I will definately be buying it soonest. I am a bit disappointed that the song "The Rocky Road to Dublin" by the Dubliners (it played during Holmes' boxing match scene and during the credits at the end of the movie) wasn't included in the soundtrack. Guess I'll have to get that one separately. Go here if you would like to hear some samples. I suggest watching the trailer on the intro page first to get a feel for how the music fits in.
The set designs were spot on. Very gritty and grimey, quite realistic for a city during the Vcitorian Industrial Revolution. The costume designs were fabulous, as well! I love Victorian era clothing. I personally think that it makes every man regardless of body type look very dashing. I have to admit that I was quite taken with Holmes' waistcoats. I really liked Irene dress as a man. That outfit was great. Plus her little pistol. She's a deadly shot, by-the-way! Wonderful.
Now on to the storyline. I really liked it. I'm a big murder/mystery buff so this was right up my alley. I confess that while I've read Agatha Christy, Ellery Queen, and my share of a great many others, I've never read Sherlock Holmes (well, except for The Hound of the Baskervilles, which I enjoyed). I have, however, seen the various makes and remakes of several of the books, as well as the series starring Jeremy Brett (my favorite). So I do like Sherlock Holmes and after having viewed this movie, will try to read more of him. Because I haven't really read any of the books, I didn't have a problem with Guy Ritchie's portrayal of the two main characters. I know some people did, though.
Now...on to the storyline:
The opening scene: It's 1891 London, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson race to prevent Lord Blackwood from completing a human sacrifice/ritual. Holmes and Watson stop the sacrifice just in time and capture Lord Blackwood. Holmes saves Watson from a barely seen glass shard that Blackwood uses to kill his enemies. The police, led by Inspector Lestrade, arrive and arrest Blackwood.
Scene 2: Blackwood is executed three months later and Holmes, having no new cases, has become bored. Watson starts packing in preparation of moving out of 221B Baker Street to establish his own business, and to marry his fiancee Mary Morstan. On the day of his execution, Blackwood requests Holmes' presence and on his arrival, warns Holmes that three more deaths will occur after he is dead and that they "will change the very nature of their world". Blackwood is then hanged and declared dead by Watson.
Scene 3: Holmes becomes re-acquainted with Irene Adler when she visits him and wants him to find a missing red-haired midget by the name of Reardon. Holmes disguises himself and races through the streets after her when she leaves and tries to find out who hired her, but can only deduce that her employer is a professor. Three days after Blackwood's execution, the stone covering his tomb is found shattered, from the inside, and a witness reports seeing Blackwood walking away. Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade find the body of the red-haired midget in Blackwood's coffin. Holmes follows clues from a pocket watch he found on the midget's body to the his home, where they discover several chemistry experiments. Thugs arrived to destroy the evidence and Holmes and Watson fight them. One thug escapes and they give chase. During the chase, a steamship being built in a naval yard sinks in the river Thames and Holmes and Watson are arrest for property damage. Watson is released on bail by Miss Morstan but not Homes. Holmes is later taken to the Temple of the Four Orders, a free mason-like secret society that dabbles in the occult. They reveal that the newly risen Blackwood was a former member, and ask Holmes to stop him. Holmes declines their offer of reward for his help but continues to investigate. As Holmes and Watson investigate, the two senior members are killed by Blackwood, apparently with magic. Blackwood assumes control of the order, planning to use the Order's power to push England to take back the the civil war-weakened United States. Blackwood orders the Home Secretary, who is a member of the Order, to issue a warrant for Holmes' arrest.
Scene 4: Holmes and Watson follow clues to an industrial slaughterhouse. There they are taunted by Blackwood and rescue Adler from a deathly trap. Watson chases after Blackwood but stumbles over a tripwire which sets off an explosion. Watson warns Holmes and Adler just in time and they escape to safety but Watson is badly injured. Holmes then learns he is wanted by the police and goes into hiding. While reflecting on the clues he has collected, he realizes that Blackwood is trying to cast a spell based on the sphinx, with the three murdered men representing three of the sphinx's animal constituents: man, ox, and eagle. Holmes deduces that the fourth, the lion, represents the English Parliament. Holmes allows Lestrade to capture and bring him to the Home Secretary. The overconfident Secretary reveals Blackwood's plan for wiping out all the Lords except his loyal followers. Holmes escapes, diving out the window into the river Thames. Watson and Adler, in a nearby boat, rescued him.
The climax: Holmes takes Watson and Adler to the sewers below Parliament where they find a machine devised by the dead redheaded midget. They discover that it will release a cyanide type of gas into the Parliament chambers and is is operated by a remote trigger in Blackwood's hands. The three fight off Blackwood's men and mange to get the gas cylinders out of the machine. Adler grabs the cylinders and races away. Holmes follows her. Blackwood becomes aware his machine has failed and upon arriving in the sewers sees Adler racing off and follows her. The three arrive at the top of the Tower Bridge, which is still under construction. Blackwood knocks Adler off the bridge and onto a lower platform, where she lies unconscious. Holmes fights with Blackwood and seeing his chance entangles Blackwood in the construction ropes and chains on the bridge. With Blackwood hanging precariously from these over the Thames, Holmes recounts that all of Blackwood's "mystical" acts (including faking his own death) were simply applications of science and tricks. Holmes wants Blackwood to stand trial but Blackwood falls and is hanged by the chains. Holmes helps Adler recover, though handcuffs her. She explains that her employer is Professor Moriarty. Adler warns Holmes that Moriarty "is just as brilliant as he is, and infinitely more devious". Holmes drops the key to the cuffs in Adler's shirt and leaves, returning to Watson. The police arrive and report a dead officer was found near machine. Holmes deduces that chasing Adler and fighting Blackwood was merely a diversion set up by Moriarty, who used it to obtain a key component of Blackwood's remote control device from the machine. Holmes accepts the case is over...for now.
And that's the story. I loved all the action and humor but I'm sure many are going to be in a snit at the "liberties" taken with Doyle's creation. Frankly, the original Sherlock strikes me as something of a cold fish. I like how Downey's and Law's interperation of them make them seem more...I don't know...human? More personable and much easier for me to relate to. The whole movie, while not completely (and painstakingly) canon, made them seem more "real" to me and want to read the books. And in my book, any movie that makes you want to do that is good movie.
And now it's time to go.