Sherlock Holmes Suffers from Not Knowing What It Wants to Be

 

It’s too bad the Sherlock Holmes film starring Robert Downey Jr. was a failure, at times embarrassing, because Downey, who plays an obsessive, crazed version of Holmes, does a great job: The film’s best parts are watching Downey absorb his environment so that by identifying the color of red dirt on your trousers he knows which part of town you’ve been traipsing in. Jude Law does a strong job as Holmes’ sidekick, Watson.

 

But the film is an egregious failure for three reasons. One, it’s too long and should have been edited down by at least twenty minutes. Two, there is a conflict of tone: Gothic vs. cartoonish. The film’s darkness is contradicted by Downey evading his adversaries like Bugs Bunny or Roadrunner. Had the film gone for pure darkness, it probably would have been more effective. 

Another colossal failure in the film was its main villain, the satanic Lord Blackwood played adequately by Mark Strong. The Blackwood role is neither developed or scary. Without a compelling evil force and without a consistent gothic tone, the film feels at times ridiculous and ultimately the viewer becomes, in spite of Downey’s immense talents, disengaged, bored, and disappointed that such a great talent as director Guy Ritchie’s has been squandered.

 

 

Comments

[Bill]

The love interest, though more comical than gothic, did inspire a name for our cat, Miss Irene Adler. She is a master of disguise, being a smoke (black with silver undercoat), amusing in her playful moments, destructive (of shoes) and sneaky, yet displaying moments of affection. And she has an appropriate background, having been trapped as a stray on the SHADY Grove Road. I agree with your review. BTW, did you see Downey in TROPIC THUNDER?

[Jeffrey McMahon]

Bill, I've only seen snippets of Tropic Thunder on cable. I can't evaluate it. It's hard to watch a film with fussy twin babies.

[Keith Beesley]

I didn't think "Sherlock Holmes" was a bad movie. It was a bit weird seeing Holmes transformed into an action hero, but Downey did such a good job I didn't mind. He was also very good in "Iron Man" (I) and that film about the LA Times reporter who befriends a homeless street musician, the name of which I can't recall at the moment.