expected it to be very good...
...and it went a step further than that.
5:20 AM 3/31/10 · I gotta say that the only thing about Sherlock Holmes that bothered me was there was no 'making of' section, or any real DVD extras to speak of. I have been a long time fan of the character and stories since I was little. I had in fact ready every single Sherlock Holmes story written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle before I was 10 years old...
...Dad had 2 massive unabridged collections in his personal library.
I've read a number of the followup series, done in Doyle's style, and enjoyed them as well. Not that I need to beat all the inconsistancies out of everything, due my duty for King & Canon, but I so often do whether I'm being concious about it or not. Still, there was very little here for me to nitpick.
Course, very little doesn't mean there wasn't anything.
Realistically the only problem I had, and by 'problem' I mean more for the sake of canon and not that it was fun to watch, was in regards to the violence. While such things are not always conveyed as well from the page to screen, the fact of the matter is that Holmes & Watson engaged in fistcuffs, or gun battles for that matter, exceedingly rarely. The mysteries were largely mental puzzles that Holmes deduced and they set about bringing the criminals to justice.
Not a lot of violence involved. Still, I think a more realistic edge may've been attempted to come into play here as well as the fact that the fights were more than tinged with a lotta humor here.
It seems to be a general thing with Hollywood, or whoever's making films these days, to bring in the important elements with classic chatacters. Ideally, as much of the rogues gallery as they can get away with. For Sherlock Holmes that generally means Professor Moriarty and I kept expecting to see him when I started watching. I was not disappointed but not in the manner I had expected. If anything, the dark professor was handled expertly, making the way things played out all the more impressive.
Another pinnacle aspect to Holmes persona is that he absolutely distrusts, some might say detests, women. The man has no close ties to any and strives to maintain that at all costs. There are many theories as to why this is, a previous movie that featured Sigmund Freud being a personal favorite, but I don't think that Doyle ever gave a specific reason. That said, the female lead in this was a special treasure in both who she played, I'm not sure on the name but the character is an established one, and how Holmes reacted to her.
Aside of the mystery and broader story elements themselves, the details concerning Watson & Holmes were a delight. Truthfully, not that much strife should exist between them. Even when Watson moved out in the stories it only changed his place of residence. The partnership and friendship with Holmes was not impacted, they continued to enjoy one another's company and battle the forces of evil.
Hell, Watson managed a mystery or two on his own.
If you're wondering why I slapped 'genre: scifi' on this it's due to the taser and the devices employed at the end. A tough of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen there. Not surprising as Holmes is a part of the lore there as well, the comics...not the movie. It's just that such things did not come up so much, even if they were on the cusp of the 20th century.
If you're a fan of the mysteries then Sherlock Holmes will hit you on all sorts of wonderful points. I had a blast all the way through.
5:20 AM 3/31/10 · I gotta say that the only thing about Sherlock Holmes that bothered me was there was no 'making of' section, or any real DVD extras to speak of. I have been a long time fan of the character and stories since I was little. I had in fact ready every single Sherlock Holmes story written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle before I was 10 years old...
...Dad had 2 massive unabridged collections in his personal library.
I've read a number of the followup series, done in Doyle's style, and enjoyed them as well. Not that I need to beat all the inconsistancies out of everything, due my duty for King & Canon, but I so often do whether I'm being concious about it or not. Still, there was very little here for me to nitpick.
Course, very little doesn't mean there wasn't anything.
Realistically the only problem I had, and by 'problem' I mean more for the sake of canon and not that it was fun to watch, was in regards to the violence. While such things are not always conveyed as well from the page to screen, the fact of the matter is that Holmes & Watson engaged in fistcuffs, or gun battles for that matter, exceedingly rarely. The mysteries were largely mental puzzles that Holmes deduced and they set about bringing the criminals to justice.
Not a lot of violence involved. Still, I think a more realistic edge may've been attempted to come into play here as well as the fact that the fights were more than tinged with a lotta humor here.
It seems to be a general thing with Hollywood, or whoever's making films these days, to bring in the important elements with classic chatacters. Ideally, as much of the rogues gallery as they can get away with. For Sherlock Holmes that generally means Professor Moriarty and I kept expecting to see him when I started watching. I was not disappointed but not in the manner I had expected. If anything, the dark professor was handled expertly, making the way things played out all the more impressive.
Another pinnacle aspect to Holmes persona is that he absolutely distrusts, some might say detests, women. The man has no close ties to any and strives to maintain that at all costs. There are many theories as to why this is, a previous movie that featured Sigmund Freud being a personal favorite, but I don't think that Doyle ever gave a specific reason. That said, the female lead in this was a special treasure in both who she played, I'm not sure on the name but the character is an established one, and how Holmes reacted to her.
Aside of the mystery and broader story elements themselves, the details concerning Watson & Holmes were a delight. Truthfully, not that much strife should exist between them. Even when Watson moved out in the stories it only changed his place of residence. The partnership and friendship with Holmes was not impacted, they continued to enjoy one another's company and battle the forces of evil.
Hell, Watson managed a mystery or two on his own.
If you're wondering why I slapped 'genre: scifi' on this it's due to the taser and the devices employed at the end. A tough of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen there. Not surprising as Holmes is a part of the lore there as well, the comics...not the movie. It's just that such things did not come up so much, even if they were on the cusp of the 20th century.
If you're a fan of the mysteries then Sherlock Holmes will hit you on all sorts of wonderful points. I had a blast all the way through.