Movie of the Week: Sherlock Holmes
December 29, 2009
This was a mindless, fun summer blockbuster version of a Sherlock Holmes tale and while I was entertained, something about it rubbed me the wrong way. I still haven’t put my finger on it. I enjoyed Robert Downey Jr.’s performance but then again, I can’t recall ever being disappointed with a RDJ performance since Johnny Be Good. The banter between Jude Law (Watson) and RDJ was the best part of the movie. I think I just didn’t like the interpretation of Sherlock Holmes. If they wanted to update Holmes, how come Watson remained close to the stuffy original version. I was neither here nor there about Rachel McAdams. I’m just glad she was an American in the movie. One American-doing-a-British accent was enough.
Except for the slow-motion breakdown of Sherlock using his deductive skills in fights (which were great), Guy Ritchie didn’t use any of his usual tricks and if I didn’t know in advance he directed it, I would have been surprised to find out. I think that is also part of my disappointment. I wanted a Guy Ritchie version of Sherlock Holmes not a Sherlock Holmes blockbuster directed by Ritchie. Given that this movie was set in the 1890s, I was surprised how NOT gritty it was.
One more thing, I pray to God the rumors of Brad Pitt as Moriarty in the sequel are NOT true. Please let him be played by a British actor. Maybe Jared Harris or Jason Isaacs instead.
you pretty much hit the nail on the head dude. we went last night & we left the theater feeling confused about how we felt about the movie but you just put words to our disappointment.
and i’m with you ..
please no Pitt for the sequel.
I wasn’t disappointed. RDJ and Jude Law had great chemistry, but I did feel kind of neutral about Rachel McAdams. I think maybe somebody like Rachel Weisz would’ve more suitable for that role. Plus, I wanted to see more of Kelly Reilly.