Critics are the most elite of the elitist when it comes to film viewing, we have to look at the film critically and to do so we must break it down, by breaking the movie down into small pieces we often miss that as a whole unit it can be entertaining and really that's all audience's want, entertainment. We can spend hours mulling over the small bad parts, but if you don't look at the whole picture you aren't getting the whole story and are therefore you're probably missing the point.
So even if this movie is pretty badly written and pretty damn ridiculous it's so insanely entertaining the only people who moan about those things are the critics and as long as people go and see the movie the people who made this movie wont care. So as a critic I admit to faults and will explain them later on, but as a member of the audience I fucking adored this movie and wanna praise it until I go blue in the face. Enjoy!
So yes, disappointingly I put this movie off for a long time after the rather average critical response, I am not made of money so I like critics to at least give me some idea as to whether I'm gonna feel like I wasted my money or not. But friends and family kept telling me how good it was and no one seemed to have a bad thing to say so I just went ahead watched it. I liked 2012 despite the reception and found Avatar pretty average despite the reception. And as I said above, I fucking loved this movie. It's like if Guy Ritchie made the next Batman movie and set it in Victorian England. Where is a fault in that? I'll answer for you, there isn't one!
Admittedly the story is the weakest part of the movie. We're dropped seemingly midway into the narrative and Holmes and Watson and the characters surrounding them are fleshed out (but not very much) along the way. Not that there is really anything wrong with no exposition I guess I'm just not sure I liked being dropped into the thick of it. What the narrative entails is a series of ritualistic murders, a man raising from the dead and a poorly written and badly rushed mystery story that comes with cheap answers simply so the audience doesn't feel all confused all leading to a lacklustre final skirmish on a half built tower bridge, it seems an almost generic spectacle. Mix in some biblical references, a cult who work behind the scenes to keep the world turning and a clash of science vs religion and we have all the generic blockbuster topics since the early nineties. And that kind of sums the movie up, for all the great performances and great action sequences and the movie may have a unique Guy Ritchie feel, it still doesn't hide that under the hood all we have here is a generic and predictable movie and not really a good set of generic or predictable elements.
But the story really is probably the only weak part (except maybe characters coulda done with a little more fleshing out, I guess). The action is so good it's almost insane. It's a joy to see Rachel McAdams and Kelly Reilly casted instead of generic bimbos like Megan Fox and...I dunno...Jessica Simpson. Downey JR. is as ever a joy to watch, he's probably one of the best actors of modern times in my opinion and then of course Jude Law, your heart must be coal if you don't love this guy. Even guys love this guy, just look at him and I mean guys who won't admit to loving another guy since they think it makes them gay. Plus it's incredible how very Guy Ritchie this movie is, you wouldn't think Guy Ritchie an auteur but this movie proves it and my god Ritchie's style really makes for a fucking awesome Sherlock Holmes. Keeping with the whole Batman thing, the way Moriarty comes in seems to allude to the way Batman receives the Joker card at the end of Begins. And my god, Moriarty maybe in it for just a moment but he's fucking badass.
Okay let's go into a little more detail about the action since this seems to be the central piece for Guy Ritchie's attention. The first two times (and only times sadly) we see Holmes in action (well I think it's the first two times) Holmes' runs through his battle plan in his head (kinda like The Midnighter I guess), in slow motion and rather than it being some wild brawl it's more like a martial arts movie, planting strategic hits in unique places to the person Holmes' is fighting for the most effective way to take them down. It's seriously fucking cool. The fighting after this, even without the cool slow motion run through, is still downright incredible. Holmes' is a martial artist but utilises the brain in his head to create some truly wild set pieces as he utilises the world around him (he even uses a piece of wood as a shield while running, all in slow motion. FUCK WIN!). Watson mainly relies on his trusty revolver and blade hidden in his cane, showing incredible skill in dual wielding, but he too has a few brawls with his fists (yeah this ain't that fat comic relief Watson) and Irene shows herself off to be like a mixture between the two, only a little more brutal being that she's on the wrong side of the law but she relies more on her powers of seduction but gets her hands dirty when necessary. It's amazing how much character you can give... characters from fighting style alone.
Downey JR. and Law create a Batman and Robin (I can't stress the whole Batman thing enough) like duo and they don't lose any of the sexual tension either (I know film theorists always assume male leads are gay but seriously, it's like screaming at us. Not even if a jokey 'it was just the times' way that Batman and Robin was. I mean genuinely). McAdam's is a gorgeous women and I think her sex appeal is underrated, especially with people fawning over Fox who looks like she'd be dotted around every beach on a spanish island, probably showing off her breasts in the hope of attention while her small cocked big ego'd boyfriend with an IQ of 50 is busy ogling the other women on the beach. Even the french talking goon who proves to be truly formidable is a massively interesting character, even if he lacks detail (well all of them do). The only real weak character is Blackwood but his rather uninteresting character seemed to only make Moriarty's short spots in the movie that more awesome.
The sets are really incredible too, Victorian London is a horrible place so by default it looks absolutely incredible on screen. The snaking cobblestone alleyways. The stands selling curious goods. The ragtag crowds of dirty poor people. The seedy stench of fear as rapists hang around in doorways. The lopsided buildings. The horribly dirty prisons. The grey and black smoke. Horse drawn carriages. It all makes for a really great looking movie. It captures the bleakness of those London streets perfectly.
And about that, this movie bleeds style. Whether it's Holmes twirling a pair of truncheons around and kicking ass with them to Blackwood's concealed blade that is almost invisible. From slow motion explosions (which conveniently do no damage) to Holmes seeking inspiration from his violin. From Holmes getting high amongst a dark magic seal to him using the smoke of a fire to create himself a screen to not get shot at. There is more out there but just these few things let you see how stylish this movie is.
So should you watch it? YES! GOD YES! I really fucking loved this movie. It's a martial arts Batman movie set in Victorian London with Rachel McAdam's and directed by Guy Ritchie. If you don't like this movie then you don't understand what a good movie is!
P.S. I hope they make a sequel!
Think about it!
-Locke.
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