Bad Editing, Bad Script & Bad Directing!!! Even Guy Richie Fans Are Disappointed!!

Rating: 5/10 (31 January 2010)

Disjointed and badly directed. By disjointed I mean the way the editing from shot to shot was done, there is no feeling of flow. Many of the sequences have been edited down so much that they don't have enough time to make an impact on you or affect you in any way. It feels more like an action computer games at time rather then a film. So many action sequences and story sequences are stupid and inconsequential and leave you feeling dizzy and disappointed. Although overall I thought the film looked great the CG effects are NOT top notch and some so obviously are CG. This is a forgettable boring story. I paid good money to see this in the cinema, don't make the same mistake, watch on TV or not at all. This movie will only appeal to undemanding patron or teen audiences.
Sherlock Holmes is developed as an interesting flawed character with world class attention to detail. This starts off great but you soon get tired of the same message thrust into your face again and again. It seems like the director / screenplay writers simply ran out of material and Holmes solved every problem either with his fists or his amazing deductive powers, which don't related well with or connect to the audience. It feels like you are watching a B grade episode of a Detective TV Series and at the end of the episode the solution is thrust on you and explained away. Seemly very clever however it demands nothing of the audience, there no sense of participated, there is no mystery. This is a big problem of this film, it is very hard to have any emotional investment in any of the characters.
On the positive side... Sherlock Holmes character is wonderfully accurately depicted as the Holmes who is a miserable, irresponsible drug addict and times dirty, other times insulting, irresponsible and even cruel. Fighting, drinking and slumming his way around. Robert Downey, Jr. played Sherlock Holmes to perfection.
Doctor Watson played excellently by Jude Law represents a refinement that enters Holmes life that influences him to become a "respectable" member of society.
Unfortunately great character casting and good acting can't save this film from bad directing, bad editing and a bad script. Boring and Deeply disappointing.
** Spoilers ** 1) I will give you just two examples out of the hundreds : When a man is murdered with fire and falls the window the scene is just edited to be too quick and you have no interest in the event. It might has well have been a scene of someone lighting a cigarette, it would have made no difference. 2) Even the CG effects are not top notch for example the scene on the bridge near the end of the movie is so obviously CG it looks more like a computer game then a film. ** End of spoilers **