Sherlock Holmes (Movie Review)

Movie Review
Sherlock Holmes
2009
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel MacAdams
Directed by: Guy Ritchie

There are times when a film tries to do too much and it ends up making the film worse than it should have been. Sherlock Holmes should be used as a step-by-step guide on how not to make a film. The special effects are ugly, there are scenes that are completely unnecessary, and some of the scenes are horribly shot. It’s not like Guy Ritchie is new to filmmaking which makes it even more surprising that the film turned out the way it is.

Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and John Watson (Jude Law) have foiled the murderous Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) from terrorizing 19th century London. Blackwood is about to be put to death and requests to speak to Holmes. He tells Holmes that he vows to continue his rampage from beyond the grave. Since Blackwood’s capture, major changes happen in the lives of Holmes and Watson. Watson seems to be moving forward with his life by relocating his office out of 221B Baker Street and getting ready to propose to his girlfriend. On the other end, Holmes seems to be spinning in circles. He hasn’t accepted a new case in months and spends all his time sequestered in his room with natural light becoming his new mortal enemy. This all changes when he’s summoned by the police to the burial site of Blackwood. It seems that Blackwood is indeed alive and has escaped his earthly tomb.  Blackwell seems to be one step ahead of the duo at every turn. Throwing even more of a monkey wrench into the plot is a woman with ties to Holmes’s past, Irene Adler (Rachel MacAdams). She re-enters his life and asks him to find a missing person. Adler has been the only woman not only to outsmart Holmes but also, at times, steal his heart. With the ghost of Blackwood terrorizing London again and Adler pulling at Holmes’s strings to get what she wants, it becomes Holmes’s most difficult case to solve.

While there is very little good to the movie, the good parts are quite excellent. The story itself is quite engaging and has a interesting mystery to follow along with. It never seems far-fetched and incredible enough to feel epic. Downey also does a good job playing Holmes. He’s boorish yet charming (well, as charming as a misanthrope can be). The problem is that the good stuff ends there.

The worst part of the movie and the part that really hurts the experience is the special effects are really bad. The backdrops of London look horribly fake. The final fight scene on top of the Tower Bridge looks so incredibly artificial. It looks like it wasn’t cheap to pull off but it feels incredibly lame.

There are also scenes that are unnecessary like the MMA-style fight scene with Holmes. It offers little to furthering the story. Actually, the only thing it really does is waste time. Scenes feel too long as well in that some of them could have easily been truncated. Some of these scenes are expanded to offer more insight into the dynamic of Holmes and Watson’s relationship but it just feels like extra junk. The movie already has a runtime of over two hours. We don’t need to waste time to know how Holmes disarms an assailant.

It also feels like the camera operators spent too much time drinking energy drinks. The action sequences are hurt with constant camera movements and close-ups of people’s faces but not their actions. Considering some of the intensity of the scenes (Downey legitimately got hurt during the shooting of a fight scene), it’s not like the action would have looked fake; so why not show it off? The film uses  dark colours to set the mood and atmosphere (dreary 19th century London). There are times where everything looks more bland than it should or unintentionally too dark which makes it a problem at times to make out objects. Artistic expression is fine and appreciated as long as it doesn’t hurt the flow of the movie. Not only does it cripple the movie but is becomes a disservice to the script.

Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes is a poor Sherlock Holmes adaptation. There’s too much going on for it to be good. There are elements buried somewhere of an enjoyable movie but its 132 minutes way too long.

☆