Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

My wife and I watched Sherlock Holmes last evening so I thought it would be good subject for critique. The first thing I noticed was when the movie began was that the backgrounds seem to be overlaid. This nonrealistic setting for me was a bad way to set the stage. I was disappointed very early on with what seemed to be poorly adapted visual effects. Soon after, I became bored with the long drawn out scenes of no particular value. I was so bored in fact I got up from the movie a couple of times to get a drink or possibly a snack. Eventually the movie began to draw my interest some. I often found the storyline difficult to follow partly due to the fact it was difficult to hear Robert Downey Jr. speaking his lines. The fact that I seem to be a loss for words to describe this movie just seems to me to be more evidence that was not a movie that I would recommend to others. The acting seemed mediocre at best, and the action unrealistic. It felt like I was watch get cheap remake of Angels and Demons. The scenes were always set at night which seemed to be designed to cover-up the fake scenery and did nothing except to cheapen the movie. Sherlock Holmes ran from scene to scene doing a sniff check to determine the chemicals involved, each time I had to ask myself is he a bloodhound or was that the best thing that could come up with. I realize the scene was set in the 1800s but the inconsistencies of technology were many. Sherlock Holmes was picking locks with instruments suitable for an operating room. The pre-played out fight scenes just seemed to lengthen an already boring scene.
The final scene of the movie where the heroine disable the machine and ran away with the poison cylinders just seemed to make no sense at all. She was right by the waterfront but instead of throwing the cylinders away she instead carry them high atop an incomplete bridge to try to make the scene more perilous. Once again the sense of phoniness of this scene just completely deflated and a sense of realism. The audience must've realized this was absolutely not real and gave no sense of excitement. As I watched this scene I just felt like saying come on get it over with. Although the bad guy met his demise in a fitting way it still wasn't much of an ending.
I am trying to do my best to recall the things that I found interesting, exciting, or funny. There was one scene but I really can't remember what it was at this moment. It had an interesting twist on an old theme. I like the concept that all the evil that was supposed to be magic was explained away using simple tricks and chemistry. If I had to choose my favorite part of the movie it would have to do with the set design; the furnishings and the architecture.