Robert Downey was miscast

Rating: 5/10 (22 July 2012)

I could not understand much of Robert Downey's dialog. His fake English accent seems garbled at times. He lowers his voice and mumbles the words, presumably to give the impression of fluency. It is too bad that such an elaborate production was marred by an unintelligible protagonist. This was a problem in the first film that was carried over to the second. Surprisingly, no one caught it. For some of us that still identify Sherlock Holmes with Basil Rathbone, the principal actors seemed a bit too silly and glib. It gives the impression that the main characters are simply having fun with the movie instead of taking the acting seriously and making the production believable. Depending on amazing special effects and not emphasizing good acting in films is all too common today. Directors should direct and actors should act. There is such a thing as allowing top actors too much freedom to improvise.