Has "Busted Franchise" Written All Over It

Rating: 6/10 (15 December 2009)

As a long time Sherlock Holmes fan,I really wanted to say something good about this one, but I really can't. Guy {Madonna's ex} Ritchie modern take on the classic Conan-Doyle stories seems to have been made for a contemporary audience who has no clue {get it?}-on who Holmes is. Downey totally fails as Holmes in a character who is too modern-and possibly too ambigiously gay for the role-not that there's anything wrong with that. He is all nervous tics and always seems to have something else on his mind. Hell, he doesn't even wear the famous deerstalker hat!Law is just alright as Watson and he does try to bring some comic relief to the character. The story has Holmes trying to stop a plot to destroy London. There are the usual CGI scenes, but for some reason most of them are pretty well done and do manage to capture the essence of what London probably looked like at that time. Also there is a very good Irish bar song that is featured throughout the movie. Even though it is a good looking and well produced movie, it is somewhat hard to follow at times and fairly predictable from start to finish., even though some interesting diversions with some steampunk items placed in try to add some momentum to the story line. Obviously looking for a new franchise, the producers of this should hope that the Baker St.boys are a hit at the box office. Movie itself is fairly likable, but it just falls flat on what it has to deliver. That's the trouble with Holmes when new stories are written to cater to contemporary tastes. Prehaps if an original Conan-Doyle story was used, this would have turned out better. Where are Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce when you need them?