Sherlock Moans (thanks for the title Caz)

The holidays have been a busy time for me, so apologies for not posting on the blog the last couple of days. That said, it still wasn’t so busy that I couldn’t head into the theater to see the latest film version / interpretation of SHERLOCK HOLMES.
My hopes weren’t very high, to be honest. The trailer, while full of action and quick one liners, was enjoyable, but didn’t really scream Sherlock Holmes to me. It wasn’t the Arthur Conan Doyle stories, or the Basil Rathbone movies of the 30’s and 40’s, or the Jeremy Brett interpretation of the 80’s. No, this was Holmes for a new generation, one that can’t sit still for the detective that is more talk than action. Sad isn’t it that audiences today can’t handle a detective that was all about the power of the mind. Instead, we need a Holmes that is as quick with his fists as he is with his wits.
The movie itself is sort of enjoyable for what it is. It’s not the most difficult mystery in the world to solve, but its fun to watch the pieces fall into place. Jude Law does probably one of the most appealing performances I have seen from him. The action sequences are appropriately exciting. The jokes are funny (most of the time).So why was it ultimately so flat and disappointing?
Most people will probably throw the blame at director Guy Ritchie’s feet. And truthfully some of the faults are on his shoulders. His choice to show how Holmes mentally prepares to take down his opponents, followed by a faster repetition of the same scene, doesn’t really work cinematically. The central idea that there is something more than brotherly love between Holmes and Watson is a bit ham handed.
But the real fault is in Robert Downey Jr’s performance and in how the character Holmes is written. Classically Holmes is arrogant and intelligent, the guy who walks in the room knowing he is smarter than everyone in it and can prove it easily. He is confident and assured. Yet Holmes is played as a neurotic, torn apart by his friend’s decision to marry and leave him. His arrogance is played as almost a defense mechanism from his own insecurities. He is a sloppy self destructive, burying his pain in bouts of drunkenness and bare knuckle boxing matches.
In short, he isn’t Holmes.
It makes me think that this movie would have been better served by just jettisoning the whole Sherlock Holmes aspect of it. Why not just have created a different kind of detective and place him in the same story? With only minor tweaks, it would work much better.
I guess the studios hoped that the recognizable Sherlock Holmes name would peak people’s interest, yet they showed absolutely no faith in any of the core elements that make Sherlock Sherlock. It’s a strange piece of logic and the movie suffers for it.
In short, better than I thought, but no where near as good as it could have been.