Sherlock Holmes (2009) Movie Review, Trailer, Film Still and Poster

USA, Germany, UK 2009
Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: 25 Dec 2009 (USA); 27 Dec 2009 (Indo)
Running Time: 2 hours 8 minutes

The Movie Review

Sherlock Holmes film still 1


SHERLOCK HOLMES
Storyline:
Cast:
Ending:
Overall:

Overly ambitious? Too much burden? Too legendary and big? Or just ineptness? Who knows which or why but this Hollywood film sucks. With big budget on hands and probably mostly translated into lavish production design, great actors and neat costumes, Sherlock Holmes really can't miss right? Sigh... if only!

London in 1891, Detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his loyal assistant Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) are on mysterious case involving black magic, witchcraft and secret society. A murderer by the name of Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) has killed five girls and for that he is sentenced to be hung! But several days after his burial, a gravedigger/caretaker of the cemetery witnesses how Lord Blackwood has come back from the grave and smashing the super heavy slab stones.

By following the clues, Holmes figures out that Lord Blackwood is the heir of a secret society who is already too afraid of what Blackwood has become. Holmes and Watson are helping each other and arguing with each other to solve the very existence of Lord Blackwood and his power.

Victorian era with all the costumes... What's new? We've got a handful of exciting movies pertaining that rather-mystical era. But okay, say that you don't watch movies very often, but have you heard about the name Sherlock Holmes? I guess some of you guys have come to know the name thanks to a Japanese comic book titled "Detective Conan" :-) That great comic book full of intricate cases set in Japan is actually heavily inspired by Sherlock Holmes. That's why it's titled Conan as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is the real author/creator of Sherlock Holmes character.

But what we got here is a monotonously murmuring detective whose actions and daily activities are like a boring diary of a child. There are some interesting deductions made by Sherlock with an intense thrilling scene at the pig slaughterhouse, but all those heavy thinking are constantly surrounded by uninspiring dialogue, lackluster camerawork and mundane situation. Even the action scenes are inferior to the likes of the cheesy Van Helsing (2004). Take for example, Sweeney Todd (2007) played by Johnny Depp is about a barber! Yes, a killer barber, but it proves to be very engrossing in the drama and mystery or The Prestige (2006) with its gripping suspense. While this... is really a waste of time. There is an excellent movie from Germany titled Henry of Navarre (2010) which tells the story of King Henry IV of France in such amusing way. The character of Henry is similar to Robert Downey's Sherlock Holmes, and even Jude Law's character Dr. Watson is similar to King Henry's advisor Rosny. But their relationship-chemistry is truly exist instead of the forced one between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Two and a half hours of Henry really is great but Two f*cking hours of Sherlock Holmes? Hmmm... better stick to 90-ish minutes and Tim Burton to seal the deal.

> Victorian era with all its uniqueness: The Wolfman (2010) and The Illusionist (2006).