Doyle would be proud

Rating: 9/10 (13 May 2010)

As a movie, Sherlock Holmes is solid; there is action, humor, and excitement to be found. I won't even dwell on that sort of thing, because I'm not qualified. I'll leave that to the movie experts.
But I absolutely must comment on how well this movie captured the essence of A.C. Doyle's masterpiece. I believe that this movie, this plot, is very close to what Doyle might have done if he had tried to create a similar sequel to Hound of the Baskervilles. This movie has all the appearance of a supernatural incident until we get Holmes's unveiling and everything is explained in perfectly ordinary terms. Just like Hound of the Baskervilles.
There were a couple of disappointments I had. I don't think Watson was done very well at all; I've read most of the Sherlock Holmes canon, and cannot recall Watson ever being reluctant to work with Holmes. Whereas in the movie he is so reluctant that Holmes uses his talents to 'trick' Watson into following him. I am also severely annoyed by Adler's portrayal; perhaps it was inevitable that she would be portrayed as a love interest, but I find Doyle's version of her far more compelling. In the canon, she is a fascination, and the fact that Holmes has no romantic interest in her adds to the enigma of his character. In the movie, she is his human weakness, which is infinitely more cliché.
But these complaints are basically petty. After all, a director is entitled to some reinterpretations of his own. And he did add some very interesting things of his own invention; I absolutely loved the fight scenes where Holmes thought out the steps to victory ahead of time before employing them.
And the fact that you-know-who is involved in such a subtle, brilliant, barely noticeable way is icing on the cake.
All in all, it is not perfectly in keeping with the canon, but I think it captures the essence of Sherlock Holmes, the overall idea, perfectly.
And, most of all, it made me want to pick up my copy of the Sherlock Holmes anthology and read. And I think that – the inspiring to check out further Holmes stories – is wonderful.
Kudos.