OK, I almost didn't see this movie for several reasons. First, I'm not a big fan of Guy Ritchie's movies. Nothing against him; his style just doesn't appeal to me. Second, I'm even less of a fan of Jude Law. Don't ask me why, but he gives me the willies (and not in a good way). Finally, a very good friend whose opinion I trust (I'd better since she's my book editor) saw the movie Christmas weekend and wasn't impressed.
However, there are three little words that describe why I did go ahead and watch it: Robert Downey Junior. I have always been a big fan of his, pre, during and post drug use alike. I watched it just to see how he portrayed such an iconic character and strangely enough, I actually was impressed.
I think what really made me like this movie was the fact that I kept getting a Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane and a Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow sort of vibe from Downey's Holmes. You know how much I loves me some Johnny! Good willies- very good willies! Since Holmes drank quite often during this movie, I wouldn't have been surprised at a "Why is the rum always gone" sort of comment. Plus, my brain sort of operates on the deductive reasoning/attention to detail that is quintessential to Sherlock Holmes. (I think that's also why Shawn on Psych is one of my favorite TV characters- he and Gus are a modern-day Holmes and Watson.)
The scenes at the slaughterhouse were so cool, as were Holmes' monologue when he catches the bad guy. I love it when the hero goes into great detail to explain how he figured out the villain's nasty tricks. I also have to admit that one of the reasons I enjoyed this movie was the by-play between Downey and Law. They actually played off of each other very well.
What I didn't like about this movie, however, was the fact that it dragged. It was a great action flick, but it seemed to take forever. I can't put my finger on a reason why, but I didn't think it was ever going to end.
That being said, this is definitely a movie that I would recommend to you. I laughed out loud several times and sat on the edge of my seat at some points. That was more than worth dealing with the dragginess of the movie.
Ah! So I am attempting my first comment now that I have located my forgotten email address. After reading your blog about Sherlock Holmes, I began to remember everything that I did love about the movie. Robert Downey of course was amazing, but I am glad that you agreed with me about the dragging story line. I don't know. It had the potential to be an awesome movie but something was missing. Perhaps it was Guy Ritchie's involvement lol! Anyway, 400 pages left and I will be able to do a guest blog about King's new novel.
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