Comments on: Review of Sherlock Holmes

By: Xroad

Xroad — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:24:45 +0000

“The ending to Sherlock Holmes–imagine a world where one could control electromagnetic energy, from anywhere, with radio waves!”

Wasn’t the term radio waves coined in the early 20th century? Electricity was discovered before the term “radio waves” came about and in the movie, there was clearly no electricity yet.

By: A.L.

A.L. — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:25:03 +0000

You should take a peek at the British TV series “Murder Rooms” (subtitled “The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes”). Quote from Wikipedia: “It was inspired by the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based the character of Sherlock Holmes on his tutor at the University of Edinburgh Dr Joseph Bell, and that Bell did occasionally do forensic work for the Edinburgh police.”

I enjoyed it more for the realistic-looking and “smelling” 19th century London. Don’t count me among the Holmes fans, people – real life just isn’t convenient enough to have murders running around with smoking guns. I can see how Conan Doyle intended Holmes to be a caricature of a detective. Give me “Alfred Hitchcock’s Three Investigators” anytime when I’ll have regressed to my sweet teens.

By: Dead Man

Dead Man — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:33:49 +0000

here’s another interesting article on Sherlock Holmes

http://www.moneyteachers.org/Deadmanmusings11.htm

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:21:29 +0000

I loved this movie. As you say, in the end the scientific method won out. I particularly liked the humor and steampunk look of the film. However, I thought Downey mumbled quite a bit and sometimes I didn’t understand what he said.

By: bryce

bryce — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:00:05 +0000

For Holmes-like TV characters – don’t forget “House”…that arrogant narcotic-addicted and brilliant solver of medical mysteries.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 06:48:08 +0000

I grew up loving Sherlock Holmes! I had read all sixty stories by the time I was in 8th grade (then I started to read the Professor Challenger stories, but stopped after the first two when Conan-Doyle’s writing was a bit woo-woo). I used to love watching the Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone, and I will eventually watch this movie (on DVD, I’m patient).

In the mean time, along with downloading the SGU podcast each week, I also listen to a radio mystery podcast that includes original Sherlock Holmes stories (I used to go to the live recordings when I had more time, and I hope to get to another soon). Here is the Sherlock Holmes page (look at the “Listen Now” button on the side for online listening).

I actually listened to radio plays in college, and often wrote lab reports with CBS Mystery Theater in the background (which the Imagination Theater spinned off of later). Oddly enough, it was one of those radio plays that introduced me to the concept of Neal Adams’ Hollow Earth over thirty years ago!

By: Sharon

Sharon — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:36:25 +0000

Interesting you mentioned House in your review. After the movie, I told my daughters that through the whole Sherlock Holmes movie I was reminded of House and his relationship with Wilson, very similar. Without my daughter’s suggestion I’m not sure I would have gone to see this movie, but I’ve always been a fan of the Holmes stories and went along. Not my favorite movie of all time by any means but it was interesting nonetheless.

By: ray

ray — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:39:55 +0000

I got back from seeing it tonight and loved the fight scenes with Holmes: where he worked out, in seconds, his every move and then executed them. Wonderful imagery and a great way to show Holmes’ superiority without having tedious exposition. Yes, this film changes the Holmes canon, but do we want every film to be a remake of the Basil Rathbone/Jeremy Brett Holmes? Surely it does the series good to be shaken up every once in a while?

By: Dax

Dax — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:36:24 +0000

Too bad that the plot was just a rehash, same with the side characters. I was severely disappointed with the film, the stylistic approach (or lack thereof), the dialogues, the over the top fight scenes, and even the poorly animated London skylines. It was just like any other film released these days, which is a bit odd knowing that the film is by Guy Ritchie, who in a distant past made some good films.

I hoped they would play down the action sequences a bit, used fewer cliches (seriously? the end scene on an under construction tower bridge? *sigh*)… you know, some of the best films are those without explosions and highly stylised and choreographed fights.

By: Steve M

Steve M — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:07:25 +0000

Recently we have seen a resurgence of the Holmes archetype in fiction. House is a carbon copy of Holmes, down to his narcotic addiction. The Mentalist, The Eleventh Hour, CSI, and Bones all have characters that channel the great detective.

I’ve read several reviews of this film, and most reviewers make the same comparison to fictional characters, but everyone always leaves out my favorite: Daryl Zero from the excellent film, The Zero Effect. I think he is even more “Holmesian” than House.