Sherlock Holmes

SHERLOCK HOLMES is one of those tough movies for me to review. I can't say it was great, but it wasn't that bad, either. There is little for me to say where I can pin-point particular complaints against it that wouldn't require more than 5 word phrases, yet it didn't put an indelible enough image in my brain to think of something particularly exciting to make note of, either.

Here are my quick nuggets of opinionation on this piece of movie fluff:

Downey and Law are fine in their respective places, and given the circumstances I couldn't see anyone doing much better.

The extensive use of greenscreens and digital backgrounds was horribly distracting, especially in the last act with the final action sequence. Yuck.

Rachel McAdams is hot, but I don't think she was all that great in this.

There were some neat explosions.

Holmes' clue-finding abilities fit well within the idea of what the writers wish to express. I wouldn't say he was particularly impressive, except BECAUSE the writers are making him that smart. It wasn't really an organic, natural-feeling process. I just felt like he was smart simply because that's how he was written.

I would say that the Sherlock Holmes purists will not enjoy this movie at all. They'll talk about how it "raped" Doyle's vision yadda yadda... On the other hand, the hardcore NON-fans of Holmes will dig this movie fairly hardcore. For those in the middle of the road - like me - I found it to be "ok". I don't mind the efforts put into making Holmes more cinematic and fitting to the modern audience, but the final product in which they tried to jumpstart the character was lackluster.
In the end, this is decent enough escapist fair. Nothing great, but it's also not all that bad. You could do much worse.

GRADE: C