NOT the Worst Sherlock Holmes Movie I've Ever Seen

[rusty_armour]

This will probably come as a huge shock to some of you, but I didn't hate the Ritchie film. I actually liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Now, I should probably point out that I still can't buy Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes. Well, not in terms of regular canon, anyway. However, I can buy him as an alternate universe Sherlock Holmes. In fact, when I viewed the whole film as a kind of alternate universe, I found I could accept it a lot more easily.

I won't bother addressing the plot as that's pretty much non-existent. As jackycomelately argues, the film is about Holmes's attempt to stop Watson's marriage and, after seeing the film, I agree. As The Sign of Four is my favourite Holmes novel, it was great to see Mary Morstan. Of course, I had to wrap my head around the fact that Mary Morstan was never Holmes's client and that Holmes's first meeting with her wasn't until that disastrous meal in the restaurant. It was around this point that I started thinking of the film as being AU. All the same, it was fun to watch Mary Morstan throw wine in Holmes's face and see through his disguise at the hospital. I was reminded a bit of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of Silk Stocking, as this film also dealt with Holmes having to accept Watson's upcoming matrimony (to a different woman than Mary Morstan).

While the similarity between the Ritchie film and Sherlock Holmes and the Case of Silk Stocking is probably coincidental, the screenwriters have obviously seen The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with Basil Rathbone as that scene where Holmes is trying to get rid of flies with his violin comes straight from that movie. I would also argue that the writers were influenced by Young Sherlock Holmes with the Ritchie film's religious cult and sacrifice of young women. Speaking of the religious cult, I'm assuming that it's supposed to represent Freemasonry. The Freemasons got a bad rap in Murder by Decree and a recent episode of Murdoch Mysteries, which isn't Sherlock Holmes but is set in the Victorian period.

While I couldn't buy Robert Downey Jr. in terms of regular Holmes canon, I did like the touches of canon that were included. It was great to see Holmes delivering so many classic lines straight from canon. He also had some of Holmes's characteristics and little idiosyncrasies. I got a kick out of seeing him shoot V.R. into the wall of the flat. I also thought it was hilarious that he and Watson had a bulldog named Gladstone, as Watson refers to having a bull pup in A Study in Scarlet when he and Holmes first discuss sharing rooms together. However, the bull pup is never referred to again, so I had always assumed that Holmes convinced Watson to get rid of it. Looking at the Ritchie film as an AU, I have to wonder if Gladstone is that same bull pup. As Watson is much more assertive in this film (going so far as to punch Holmes in the cab when Holmes delivers that classic "You have the grand gift of silence" line), I could easily see him refusing to get rid of the bull pup.

I quite like Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler. My friend E felt that there was too large an age gap between her and Holmes (an age gap that's only four years in canon), but maybe Irene Adler lied about her age (saying she was older to be taken more seriously) much in the same way Holmes pretended to be older in the Laurie R. King universe. Well, age difference aside, I agree with jackycomelately about Rachel McAdams' screen presence and ability to carry off the role. I found it really interesting that Irene Adler was working for Moriarty. It reminded me of David Stuart Davies' The Veiled Detective, where virtually everyone in Holmes's life is working for Moriarty.

Of course, the thing that everyone raves about when discussing this film is the relationship between Holmes and Watson. There is definitely slash appeal, and Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law have some serious screen chemistry. They seem to work almost seamlessly together and they were a lot of fun to watch on screen. I'd say the Holmes-Watson relationship is one of the strengths of the Ritchie film. I was also very impressed with the art direction and special effects. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the film recreated Victorian London. I thought it was a nice touch that Tower Bridge was shown as only being partially built -- and it made a great setting for the final showdown between Holmes and Blackwood.

Well, I could probably say more, but it's getting late and I think I've rambled on enough. To sum up for anyone who skimmed through this post quickly, the Ritchie film was better than I expected and I think it works well as an alternate universe version of Sherlock Holmes.

Comments

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Hi, sublunarfields! Yes, I remember you saying that you kind of liked the movie. It could be because you also liked The Case of the Silk Stocking. As with the antagonism between Holmes and Watson's fiancée in Silk Stocking, the animosity between Holmes and Mary Morstan was rather fun. *g* It sounds like the steampunk elements, the slash, and Gladstone the dog were among the most popular features of the Ritchie film!

I can understand why you're attracted to Hugh Laurie. He's a rather handsome man who has aged well, I think. I've actually had kind of a thing for him since the early nineties. Well, him and his good friend, Stephen Fry. :-)

To be honest, I'm only observant when it comes to things that really interest me. If I'm interested in a particular book or movie, I'll remember certain details. However, I'm too right-brained to be truly observant. Oh, and if it makes you feel any better, I made a really embarrassing mistake in my review that I had to fix this morning. I spoke about the Freemasons being the villains in A Study in Scarlet, when it was the Mormons! Talk about embarrassing! *g*

[sublunarfields.livejournal.com]

>I spoke about the Freemasons being the villains in A Study in Scarlet, when it was the >Mormons! Talk about embarrassing! *g*

Oh, now that you mention it, I do remember about the Mormons. But wasn't there another story with Freemasons too? Maybe I'm mixing that up with some other writer's story. They are creepy, aren't they? Freemasons, I mean. LOL.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

That's a good question, sublunarfields! As I couldn't remember whether any of the original stories featured Freemasons, I did a quick search online. However, most of the results that came up referred to the Ritchie film, as part of it was shot at Freemason's Hall. I wasn't able to find anything referring to canon, but maybe I didn't dig deep enough. I'd be surprised if the masons weren't mentioned somewhere. I do seem to remember Holmes deducing that one of his clients was a mason, but I can't remember if that was in an original story or a pastiche.

[sublunarfields.livejournal.com]

Oh, another thing about Stephen Fry. Maybe you've found it already, but I just thought I'd mention that there's a role play on Twitter, called #Frys. My sister was there for a while and had some fun, but eventually, some of the less nice people there made her leave. She played a fake daughter of Stephen Fry. That's pretty much what the role play is about. He's 'married' to 'MrsStephenFry' and they have lots of kids. What you might appreciate, is that he sometimes drops by, when they have what I think might be referred to as a chat.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow! I had no idea there was a roleplaying game called #Frys on Twitter! Somehow, I'm not surprised that Stephen Fry sometimes drops by to have a chat. *g* I do follow Stephen Fry on Twitter when I have time and/or actually remember to check my Twitter account. I'm sorry that your sister was driven off #Frys by some not very nice people. There's always someone in a group that has to ruin things, isn't there? :-(