19th century Ace Ventura with less energy

Rating: 4/10 (21 July 2012)

Although Sherlock Holmes is undeniably the best detective to be universally known, I should have known the updated film version would not have been as entertaining. I wanted it to be, the casting seemed to have picked the right actors, but instead the result was disheartening.
Robert Downey Jr. stars as the observant detective in a race to discover the plan of the evil Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). No doubt does Downey Jr. give a convincing performance as Holmes but his execution is frustrating if not unconventional. Holmes' powers of deduction are quite impressive just like Ace Ventura, how he can ramble out various illustrations to how certain acts were performed but his means of communication are not what you would call crystal clear. Instead of hearing what Holmes had to say, I heard deep raspy monotone whispering with no change in pitch or annunciations. What did he say? Seriously.
The same goes for Downey's co-star Jude Law who plays Dr. John Watson. I did enjoy some of their exchanges but much of them were just based upon their facial expressions. Half the time I couldn't even tell what they were mumbling about. Another person that didn't really fit into place was Rachel McAdam's character of Irene Adler. The audience is told that she was once a love interest of Holmes. Okay,...so what happened? Why is she acting currently as a mole? What made her become the thing she is in this movie? No explanations were given.
The set designs were not that much of an eye-grabber either. I couldn't believe how colorless every scene looked. Grey, black, brown, some dark yellow, blue and red shades were the only things I caught a glimpse of. For the adventures Sherlock Holmes is known for, this adventure was not very colorful at all. And although this is an adventure film of some sort, I did not really appreciate for the action scenes. How could Sherlock Holmes, a man of the 1800s, receive martial arts training and no one else seem to know of it?
One of the few scenes I actually got a kick out of was when Holmes, Adler, and Watson were in the slaughterhouse. That was an intense moment but for the element of danger, not action. Lastly, the movie soundtrack is the most foreign I have ever heard of. Hans Zimmer, a well-known composer, I thought would have created music with little more panache but all I got instead was a bunch of weird guitar playing. Not cool Zimmer. Pretty lame if you ask me.
There's nothing wrong with the plot here, Robert Downey Jr. does have some good lines but it's hard to understand him half the time. It doesn't help that both the action and music are weird too.