No Mystery to Sherlock Holmes

Rating: 3/10 (25 December 2009)

Robert Downy is a brilliant actor. It is a shame his talent is wasted in this production. My wife and I couldn't wait for the movie to end, which seemed to drag on and on. The movie failed in its blend of action and mystery, leaning heavily on the action and meager in the mystery.
We appreciate the intention of a director to rework material and make it his own. Guy Richie was right to try and make the iconic character suitable for contemporary audiences. While he was right in intentions he was wrong in his executions.
The first error was assuming we cared about the characters. There was no build up in character development that made us care at all. We cared about the actor, but not the character he had to play.
The second error was not encouraging the audience to figure out the mystery. For the mystery was not at all evident. Instead we know who the killer is and as far as we can tell, he is a Satanic worshiper.
The use of flashbacks to show how Holmes figured things out failed as well. It had a contrived and mechanical feel, almost as if obligatory since he is a detective and he should be shown as a detective.
We give this movie a thumbs down. It might appeal to a younger generation but for an aging baby boomer, it was a failure.