Talk about Mr. Holmes

Once again, this is going to be a spoiler review. AHHH, one warning is good is enough for me. Sherlock Holmes is a cinema and literature classic. I pretended to read it while in high school, but as I became older I gave it a shot. Just like everyone else, I fell in love with the material. The crimes and mysteries were intoxicating. How could you not like Sherlock Holmes? When I heard there was going to be another rendition, I was all in! However, when the trailer dropped I was completely out. The trailer did not captivate me because it did not feel as a movie. But, I still went to the screening and left my doubts on the curb. I came out of the screening and picked my doubts right back up. My biggest fear was that it was going to feel like a television special and it did! I like the movie, but it was lacking a genuine cinema experience.

I do not want to confuse anyone and give the conceived notion that Holmes was not a good movie. There were many good qualities.  Firstly was the running gag of Sherlock doing his “thing”, and everybody knows what his “thing” was. His “thing” gave him the ability to look at you and tell you what you ate, where you have been, and maybe, how you feeling at the time. I love that they kept that aspect and even made fun of it. Ian McKellen is f%#king amazing as always. I have not seen him in a bad flick yet, and I do not think I ever will. He plays two different types of Sherlock. He plays an older version of Holmes who we know and love, and an Alzheimer’s version of him. Yes, he has the Alzheimer’s disease (senile dementia) which is irony at its finest. McKellen plays both roles so well that I honestly could not see anyone else being the legendary Sherlock Holmes. Secondly, the movie’s little boy was not too shabby. I never saw him in anything, but he held down his own while performing alongside one of the best. He receives credit for that. He does well, especially during the scene where he gets disrespectful with his mother, the housekeeper of Holmes. The scene was full of raw emotion, that I even felt bad for her. Hell, even Holmes felt bad for her. Thirdly, I give kudos for them showing me a new instrument being a glass harmonica. If you have not seen it, google it right now. I will wait. It is okay to take your time. Okay, it is beautiful right?!



With every good comes the bad. The main thing wrong with this film was its weak storyline. YES! I could not believe a weak storyline passed as acceptable. What made it worst was the misleading trailer. The studio led you to believe that Holmes had one last unsolved case. But, guess what? He did solve it. Mind blown, is it not?

In fact, Condon has some fun with having the elder Holmes head to the theater to check out one of the overwrought B-movies based on Dr. Watson’s much-embellished written renderings of his friend’s exploits. That it is Nicholas Rowe, who played the title character in 1985’s “Young Sherlock Holmes,” appearing in the black-and-white picture is a neat trick, indeed.

But then we also must deal with less-interesting flashbacks to Holmes’ recent foray to Japan, where a local guide (Hiroyuki Sanada) helps him find the supposedly rejuvenating plant. This plot strand eventually sets up the film’s redemptive conclusion but falls somewhat flat.