Sherlock Holmes (2009)

[Tinsel]

I wonder if it is any good. It has Robert Downey Jr as the detective, and I did look at the IronMan movies. I thought that he was good in IronMan, but I was under the impression that Sherlock Holmes would be a very difficult character to portray since Sherlock doesn't sound like a sensational playboy. The thing is, that I focus mostly on H.P. Lovecraft but I have thought about reading a few Conan Doyle stories. Just have not got there quite yet, but I am interested in reading a detective story. I had it pictured in my mind that Sherlock Holmes was optimistic, a keen observer, an acute listener. He was not trying to have sex with women during his detective job, unlike a James Bond. Robert Downey Jr would have been better for James Bond, rather than Sherlock Holmes.

Now, I could be wrong here, but I must have developed this image or picture of Holmes at some point, having run across something. This is a just a sketch of my thinking on this subject. I'm not quite ready to start with those stories, and I see that this movie is available, but it might be a very insane movie, I suspect. That is what I think. It was an attack against Conan. James Bond is next? James Bond is at risk.

 

[Leadbelly]

I had a very similar opinion as you when I first found out that Robert D Jr was playing Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes, from my limited experience is a rather stodgy, straight laced and humorless character who none the less was extremely perceptive and intelligent.
Not the playboy that I'm used to seeing Robert as.
I said so on another forum, shouting my dissatisfaction to the world. You can imagine my shock when I discovered that in actual fact, Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes is actually a lot closer to the Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle character than the TV movie versions we're all used to.

I've never read any of the novels but by all accounts SH is a wee bit of a scally wag, a martial artist (or a fighter at least) and a opium addict.

After learning this I watched the movie with more of an open mind and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm a fan of Guy Richie's anyway and his underground thuggish style surprisingly suited the story.
It's certainly not going to go down as one of the great thinking movies of the decade but it's a good yarn and worth the watch.

 

[Tinsel]

Well than... perhaps I should rent it from iTunes.

 

[Arkose]

I really like the movie. I like the interaction of RD jr and Jude Law. If you are a Sherlock homes addict than yes you might have problems but that would go with any book into movie.

RD Jr. doesn't play as a playboy or even a glimpse of it. There is some love but nothing playboyish at all. I have read a couple of SH stories and RD Jr. acting fits right with what I thought. I would recommend the movie to anyone and I can't wait for the next movie.

(I have it on blue-ray and have watched 15+ times)

 

[The Procrastinator]

Entertaining movie. The highlight for me was the chemistry between Holmes and Watson, very enjoyable that.

 

[ravenus]

I thought the film had very tenuous connections with the world of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by ACD, but for all that I enjoyed it as pulpy entertainment (Think of it as a Victorian-era Lethal Weapon), and Jude Law's Watson is actually quite delightful.

 

[Connavar]

I could have enjoyed it as pulpy entertainment if i wasnt so annoyed by RDJ being so bad,so clichè,generic Holmes. Another director a more subtle one could have made fun what if story....

 

[steve12553]

I was very leery of this film having read all the Conan Doyle stories more than once and seen all the versions in film and TV that I could get my hands on. I was given the DVD by my wife who understands about as much about Holmes as I do about American Idol. I finally watched it and was mildly suprised. It wasn't that bad for a non-canon story and the characters were decent but AS is typical of a Guy Richie film everyone spke in a sort of extreme slang (probably not appropriate fror Victorian England) and mumbled so badly, I couldn't always follow what was going on. That style of speech was very clever and funny in films like Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels but here it made the film a chore for me to watch.

 

[clovis-man]

The thing is, that I focus mostly on H.P. Lovecraft but I have thought about reading a few Conan Doyle stories. Just have not got there quite yet, but I am interested in reading a detective story.

Well, then you have nothing to stop you from enjoying the film. Go for it. Then do yourself a real favor and read the Conan Doyle stories. Start with A Study In Scarlet, one of the four Holmes novels. It provides insight into how Holmes and Watson became acquainted; a good starting point.

But, on balance, I had no problem with the film, even though I had read every scrap of the Holmes oeuvre by the time I saw it. Entertaining, if not orthodox.

 

[Connavar]

There is no problem with the film its a cheap,semi entertaining blockbuster. That is if you forget its suppose to be Holmes.

Tinsel should watch the film and not think of Conan Doyle creation and then read the first novel.

I saw quality Brett Sherlock Holmes tv show before i read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle series so it doesnt matter which way you start.

 

[clovis-man]

I saw quality Brett Sherlock Holmes tv show before i read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle series so it doesnt matter which way you start.

Jeremy Brett's portrayal of our troubled detective was superb. And readily available on DVD for anyone interested .

 

[Connavar]

Jeremy Brett's portrayal of our troubled detective was superb. And readily available on DVD for anyone interested .

I have seen late nights on tv that series but decided to get the dvds. Having read the books now, i became more impressed by Jeremy Brett's porttrayal. He is the ideal Holmes look,manners,acting wise. What i picture when i read the stories.

Not fond of the Dr. Watson version in the series though, he looks too old, not energetic compared to Watson from literary series.

 

[ravenus]

Not fond of the Dr. Watson version in the series though, he looks too old, not energetic compared to Watson from literary series.

Erm, what? Two actors played Watson across the series. David Burke played in Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and Edward Hardwicke played in Return of... and all further series. In fact it works quite well, because there's a distinct change of tone from the playful and vigorous Adventures to the more introspective and mature tone of the further series (Possibly Jeremy's illness and growing depression also had a hand in this). One gets a sense of Holmes and Watson having experienced much and aged together.

In fact I prefer Hardwicke's quiet Watson. In the TV series he is also shown to be more intelligent and having learned from Holmes' methods.

 

[Connavar]

Erm, what? Two actors played Watson across the series. David Burke played in Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and Edward Hardwicke played in Return of... and all further series. In fact it works quite well, because there's a distinct change of tone from the playful and vigorous Adventures to the more introspective and mature tone of the further series (Possibly Jeremy's illness and growing depression also had a hand in this). One gets a sense of Holmes and Watson having experienced much and aged together.

In fact I prefer Hardwicke's quiet Watson. In the TV series he is also shown to be more intelligent and having learned from Holmes' methods.

I have seen eps only from Memoirs series so i cant judge Burke and i dislike parts of Hardwicke portrayal. I like parts of him but i thought he was too quiet watson. Thats more of the version they want than the actor.

 

[ravenus]

Memoirs was the last season. By that time Jeremy Brett was in very bad shape physically and psychologically and it probably affected the mood of the cast & crew and the tone of the episodes, so maybe things appear quieter and duller.