SPOILER ALERT!
This is not a Sherlock Holmes movie. At least that was what I thought until I saw the final 15 minutes of the movie (will come to that in a moment). I mean how/who can digest a Holmes who seems to have specialized in mixed martial arts, moving like Jackie Chan in the opening sequence fighting 4 men at a time? He almost brings us back to the Holmesian manner only to end up firing rounds in a moving train and throwing out Mary Morston from the train (yeah, you heard me right!). Towards the middle I thought I was watching a world war movie with all sorts of guns and cannons expoding all around me along with slick camera angles showing the details of the same in slow motion.
Likewise Irene Adler was disposed off in a quick fashion to emphasis on Prof. Moriarty's hardheartedness and there was Col.Sebastian Moran who did his part commendably. A few disguises, a nude Mycroft Holmes, capturing of Sherlock and some related sequences were there as well. All these along with a whole lot of funny sequences that will make us laugh plus Downey Jr. who certainly behaves like Holmes but unfortunately who never had the looks of the detective was enough for me to conclude that this was not a Holmes movie that I am watching but some other action packed comedy entertainer.
But then the last 15 minutes changed a lot of things. Suddenly there was the Reichenbach falls - though not in a way that you would imagine, there was a meaning to the plot, there was suspense, there was meaning to all those meaningless shots before and as an icing: a beautifully crafted Holmes-Moriarty face off in a unique fashion that will ultimately remind us about the story: The Final Problem. In fact, many dialogues were directly from the story. "Dreadful caldron of swirling water and seething foam, will lie for all time the most dangerous criminal and the foremost champion of the law of their generation." being the last one of them.
The movie ended on a high and I am happy about that. It seems like the director and the actor got hold of the character very well but the former introduced action sequences for the sake of entertainment which I felt was not necessary. Ironically the last 15 minutes had little action in it and was undoubtedly the best portion of the film.
Verdict: If you can forget Holmes for the initial part and bring him back in at the end then this will turn out to be a good watch.
This is not a Sherlock Holmes movie. At least that was what I thought until I saw the final 15 minutes of the movie (will come to that in a moment). I mean how/who can digest a Holmes who seems to have specialized in mixed martial arts, moving like Jackie Chan in the opening sequence fighting 4 men at a time? He almost brings us back to the Holmesian manner only to end up firing rounds in a moving train and throwing out Mary Morston from the train (yeah, you heard me right!). Towards the middle I thought I was watching a world war movie with all sorts of guns and cannons expoding all around me along with slick camera angles showing the details of the same in slow motion.
Likewise Irene Adler was disposed off in a quick fashion to emphasis on Prof. Moriarty's hardheartedness and there was Col.Sebastian Moran who did his part commendably. A few disguises, a nude Mycroft Holmes, capturing of Sherlock and some related sequences were there as well. All these along with a whole lot of funny sequences that will make us laugh plus Downey Jr. who certainly behaves like Holmes but unfortunately who never had the looks of the detective was enough for me to conclude that this was not a Holmes movie that I am watching but some other action packed comedy entertainer.
But then the last 15 minutes changed a lot of things. Suddenly there was the Reichenbach falls - though not in a way that you would imagine, there was a meaning to the plot, there was suspense, there was meaning to all those meaningless shots before and as an icing: a beautifully crafted Holmes-Moriarty face off in a unique fashion that will ultimately remind us about the story: The Final Problem. In fact, many dialogues were directly from the story. "Dreadful caldron of swirling water and seething foam, will lie for all time the most dangerous criminal and the foremost champion of the law of their generation." being the last one of them.
The movie ended on a high and I am happy about that. It seems like the director and the actor got hold of the character very well but the former introduced action sequences for the sake of entertainment which I felt was not necessary. Ironically the last 15 minutes had little action in it and was undoubtedly the best portion of the film.
Verdict: If you can forget Holmes for the initial part and bring him back in at the end then this will turn out to be a good watch.
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