"Sherlock Holmes" Movie Review

I feel like all I've been writing lately is movie reviews, but watching movies is pretty much what I've been spending my winter break doing (besides the mandatory schoolwork, of course).

But anyway.  So Sherlock Holmes wasn't really what I expected . . . but it was pretty good!  Bottom line, it's an action movie, not a mystery movie.  Which is okay (I actually really like action/adventure movies, especially when they have a lot of humor thrown it), but I also don't think it really did the great detective justice.

Let me say that I am in love with the art department.  From sets to props to the closing credits, this film had me completely convinced I was chasing around London with Holmes.  His room was spot-on -- reminds me a lot of my room, actually, except with more explosives.  The location filming is probably this film's strongest point, especially on in the cathedral in the opening and the inadvertently hilarious accidental launching of a steamboat on the Thames.  The ending credits are hands-down the most awesome I have ever seen . . . remember how Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban did their ending credits with the Maurader's Map?  Well, this is kind of like that.  I'm not going to describe them, that would ruin the surprise, but . . . the whole film was worth it just for that.

Music.  Hans Zimmer is like a god . . . his scores make any movie better (he did the score for Angels & Demons too, just FYI.  It also features the Dubliner's version of "The Rocky Road to Dublin", giving parts of the film a very ordinary-man-on-the-street feel.  Sometimes the music takes away from the story, sometimes it overwhelms the story, and sometimes . . . it just fits the story beautifully, like here.

Casting.  Robert Downey Jr. is actually a very good actor, which surprised me . . . I hadn't seen any other movies of his, but I've had enough movie-going experience to say that the guys most girls my age swoon over can't act to save their lives.  This is an exception :).  While I loved loved loved Irene Adler's character, I can't help but think Rachel McAdams was . . . miscast, I suppose.  She's a good actress, but she's too . . . modern?  bland?  I dunno.  Something.  Jude Law was a great foil for Holmes, Mark Strong was a creepy evil Lord Blackwood.  While he was over-the-top, that fault lies with the writers.

Now, to the plot.  Probably the weakest part of the whole movie, IMHO.  The story is overblown, interesting parts are played down, and the occasional moments of inventive directing are weighed down by the less than spectatular writing.  There's plenty of funny moments, notably any scene involving Homes's dog, and the whole steamboat-launching thing; unfortunately, those moments are too often lost in the rest of the jumble.  The boxing scene, for one, makes me roll my eyes in annoyance, and if Blackwood was any more a stereotypical villain, he would . . . um, help me out here guys, I can't think of anything!  Anyway, I wish they'd focus more on the magic and detective work, rather than have Holmes go around punching people and accidentally blowing stuff up.  We need more scenes like the one in the midget's workshop.

On the plus side, Sherlock Holmes has one of the best opening sequences I've seen in a long time.  Dark, suspenseful, and making full use of a variety of camera angles (crane shots = <3).  I also really liked director Guy Rithcie's glimpses into Homes's brain during the fight scenes, breaking down each of his moves in slow motion before he finally explodes into action.  It shows a bit of Holmes' intelligence that isn't always on display.

Overall, I recommend it.  It's harmless fun, a summer movie with too little CGI and romance to actually be a summer movie, and a winter movie with too big of a budget and too much humor to actually be a winter movie.  Go watch it, you'll like it!  (If you can ignore the fact that the last 30 minutes are doing nothing but screaming "SEQUAL!" in your ear with a megaphone or two :P).