First Hit: Although the film was filled with action, it lacked any deductive mystery which is what Holmes was all about – solving mysteries by logical deduction.
I don’t mind good action films, however this film is about Sherlock Holmes one of the best investigated story lines of our time.
Therefore the action in this film seemed to be in search of a mystery or story and none was found. Generally, I would say this film lacked a good script, story line, and intention. There was nothing really compelling about this version of Sherlock Holmes.
Granted Robert Downey Jr. was a great casting choice for this role but how the incompetent Guy Ritchie (director) showed Holmes’ deductive powers was nothing less than a cop out.
In essence, Richie showed Holmes’ deductive abilities by showing the audience an upcoming scene in slow motion with an occasional voice over by Downey indicating what he was thinking, and then you watched the scenes in normal speed.
This might work for MTV music videos but does nothing but point to the audience and say “I can’t create mystery and deductive scenes, so I’ll show you the results, and then show them to you again in case you missed it the first time”.
The other way he tried to show Holmes’ power of deductive reasoning is that he would revisit scenes while Holmes explained what he saw and figured out when he first visited the scene.
Other issues with the film were the numerous times I saw an obvious matte background on which the scene was shot.
One bright spot in the film was Jude Law’s very adequate version of Dr. Watson, Holmes counterpart and partner in their crime solving business.
Ritchie needs to quit trying to direct full length big time films. My basis for this statement is to watch an Eastwood film then watch a Richie film – no contest. One knows what they are doing and has clear intention and the other throws a lot on the screen in some semblance of order and hopes the audience thinks it’s good. Downey, on the other hand, puts all his energy into making the character work. This is something he does all the time and here he is totally involved and it shows. Law is good as a counterpoint to Holmes and their interactions are strikingly good.
Overall: I was bored and simply waited (hoped) for something interesting to come along and it rarely did.