Sherlock Holmes – The Movie

Yesterday we went to see the late show o the Sherlock Holmes movie. It was fun. There are, however some things in thta movie which could easily prevent it from beng fun.

I guess I start with the weak spots and finish with the best bits.

As far as I can see, there are three major flaws in this movie:

• The depiction of Holmes and Watson are relatively unfaithful regarding the original characters:
  Holmes is depicted as a half-crazed, manic  man with a tendency towards violence who engages in boxing-matches to let of steam.
  Watson is a gambler, who amonst other things bets on Holmes’ boxing matches.
• There is too much arbitrary action, pyrotechnics and violence.
• For a first adventure, the plot is simply too big, the task too grand.

Now for the good bits:

• The villain is brilliant, believable and in my oppinion the best played character.
• The movie isquite simply a lot of fun and does not take itself too seriously
• The steampunk elements: Mysticism, some weird science birdering on alchemy, a conspiracy and actually… No, this would be a spoiler
• The chemistry between the characters and between them and their respective significant other
• The camera person as a genious
• The machine at the end, such a marvelous steampunk contraption. Basically it is a clockwork bomb…
• The esthetics and imagery of the movie is simply excellent, ever single scene, every image adds up to form a beautifully dark and haunting image that finally resolves itself in:
• The possibility of a sequel

Well, if you are looking for a movie faithful to the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, skip this one. If you are looking for a fun and action-filled movie with a Cictorian setting, go see it, you won’t regret it.