Sherlock is Dead

Rating: Null/10 (24 December 2009)

Fast-paced, stylish, great sets, good action, and enough brain teasing to cater to the not yet dead-in-the-head, but is it Sherlock? I guess it is now...
It says in the trivia notes that Downey Jr studied Granada Television's Jeremy Brett's characterization of the great sleuth. I'm glad he didn't study him too closely because I much prefer Downey as Holmes. If the image of a lean, ascetic, high fore-headed, aquiline-nosed, drawn-cheeked, somewhat saturnine detective has to be banished, why not go all the way and replace him with someone Conan Doyle never had in mind in a million years but who is at least charming.
I suppose it all comes down to casting and this was cast by current box- office appeal, with no regard to the fictional characters. The best or the most glaring example of this is Rachel McAdams who seems to have wandered off the set of a contemporary romantic comedy into London of the 1890s. Her presence in every scene is like having one of the period characters suddenly put a cellphone to his ear and take a suck at a Starbucks cup. The set design is fantastic: London of the time must've looked a lot like this, and although the clash exaggerates the time warp effect the sets win in the end, and with the excellent supporting cast make the movie credible, while Downey and Law do their best to make it in-credible - but that's what we're paying for after all.
If you want the real Sherlock, and envision the character as Conan Doyle imagined him, read the books. If you want 2 hours of amusement go see this and you won't be disappointed.