12-13-2011, 02:45 PM
After watching this, I've had to update my secret notebook, "Things to Do When I Go Back in Time." I had been intending to go back and kill Einstein, Edison and Eisenhower, not because I dislike the letter "e," nor do I hold any particular animosity towards these individuals, but just to dilute the cloying benevolence of so many time travelers. But now my number one mission is to dredge Arthur Conan Doyle from the past and treat him to a viewing of this movie. I want to see his reaction when, a few frantic minutes in, Downey introduces himself as Sherlock Holmes.
As DM may have mentioned, I didn't see the first movie, so this was my first exposure. It was jarring from the first frame. I was hoping for some time to sink into the characters, but it was caricature from the get-go -- outrageous disguises, clever ripostes (most of them whispered with an accent, which means I missed them entirely), and a very odd counterpoint of slapstick humor and genuinely brutal scenes. I don't want to be too critical of the latter, since I've enjoyed many Asian flicks that wildly mixed comedy and brutality (Robotrix comes to mind). Still, it posed a wildly swinging suspension bridge of disbelief that had me gripping the handrails on many occasions.
The style was annoying and intriguing at the same time. I kept trying to figure out what was working and what wasn't. But I think DM nailed it precisely with the word "frantic." I had a hard time relaxing, settling into the viewing. Any strong opinions I might have formed kept getting dislodged.
If I have one strong opinion, it would be that this Sherlock Holmes comes across in a Jackie Chan way. He's a brilliantly resourceful martial artist, intensely aware of his surroundings and able to read possibilities and clues into every item. But there is no sense of a profound intellect at work, though I'm certain Guy Richie was trying for that as well. This Sherlock Holmes survives from scene to scene on sheer physical prowess. I really wanted to see more of the quiet intellect and its power over brawn, as well as a few more breasts from the ladies.
And wouldn't a platypus or two have been nice?
Wearing spacesuits.
By the way, why is Guy Ritchie doing these movies? Why don't they let the author's great great grandson Christopher Doyle direct them? I actually did some googling to try to find out why. As it turns out, Christopher Doyle suffers from a SPOILERwaterfallENDSPOILER phobia.
Uh... Maybe you shouldn't trust me about Christopher being related to Arthur.
As DM may have mentioned, I didn't see the first movie, so this was my first exposure. It was jarring from the first frame. I was hoping for some time to sink into the characters, but it was caricature from the get-go -- outrageous disguises, clever ripostes (most of them whispered with an accent, which means I missed them entirely), and a very odd counterpoint of slapstick humor and genuinely brutal scenes. I don't want to be too critical of the latter, since I've enjoyed many Asian flicks that wildly mixed comedy and brutality (Robotrix comes to mind). Still, it posed a wildly swinging suspension bridge of disbelief that had me gripping the handrails on many occasions.
The style was annoying and intriguing at the same time. I kept trying to figure out what was working and what wasn't. But I think DM nailed it precisely with the word "frantic." I had a hard time relaxing, settling into the viewing. Any strong opinions I might have formed kept getting dislodged.
If I have one strong opinion, it would be that this Sherlock Holmes comes across in a Jackie Chan way. He's a brilliantly resourceful martial artist, intensely aware of his surroundings and able to read possibilities and clues into every item. But there is no sense of a profound intellect at work, though I'm certain Guy Richie was trying for that as well. This Sherlock Holmes survives from scene to scene on sheer physical prowess. I really wanted to see more of the quiet intellect and its power over brawn, as well as a few more breasts from the ladies.
And wouldn't a platypus or two have been nice?
Wearing spacesuits.
By the way, why is Guy Ritchie doing these movies? Why don't they let the author's great great grandson Christopher Doyle direct them? I actually did some googling to try to find out why. As it turns out, Christopher Doyle suffers from a SPOILERwaterfallENDSPOILER phobia.
Uh... Maybe you shouldn't trust me about Christopher being related to Arthur.
I'm nobody's pony.