A+ action, F- mystery

Rating: Null/10 (21 August 2011)

"Sherlock Holmes" is a nice entertainment movie, if the action+comedy+witty jokes sprinkled around+bits of romance mix is your choice. It is a funny little revision of the classic detective and the whole galaxy of characters around him: Watson, Lestrade, and so on. Holmes is shown here as an athletic and street-smart action hero, but also as a surprisingly erudite person who happens to have the exact piece of information, obscure as it may be, exactly when it's needed (but, on the other hand, that's what we expect from this character in a movie like this!).
The movie is best in the numerous action sequences, in those where Holmes boasts his uncanny deductive gifts and in the dialogues between Holmes and Watson, where their homoerotic chemistry shines in all its glory (another very good point about the movie). Rachel McAdams is the weakest character in the whole movie as Holmes's old flame and female counterpart, although the movie would have been better off without the romantic interest between them, for the reasons mentioned above. Also, the main characters -except for Irene Adler (McAdams)- are quite strong, and well-written.
Where the movie seriously lacks is the mystery part. I absolutely expected some of that, come on, it's Sherlock Holmes! But the suspense-mystery-guessing part is completely missing from this otherwise efficient combo. There is little for the public to guess, and the little bit that is present will only fool the viewers with sparse viewing experience in this genre. If you, like me, went to watch this hoping for some intelligent twist, and a solution that Conan Doyle himself would have envied, then you will be seriously disappointed.
My score is 5/10.