Holmes, Sherlock. Guinness records list him as the most portrayed movie character. 75 actors have played the part of the baker street private detective in over 211 films. And yet, I do not need to say anything about what makes the movie Sherlock Holmes (2009) different.
When I first watched the trailer, I couldn’t make sense of it. I mean, besides the names, there seemed nothing familiar about them. Curious, i was. And apprehensive too; I was afraid this movie might disappoint me. It didn’t.
Robert Downey Jr. plays Sherlock in this one, and the first thing that will cross the mind of anyone who has read even one book on A.C. Doyle’s most acknowledged creation is that he doesn’t look the part. Lets see why.
- Holmes in the books was tall, over 6 ft. according to Watson.
- Holmes had black hair and gray eyes, thin lips and a ‘hawk like nose’. (Yes, I googled it.)
- Holmes had a strident voice.
- Holmes was scrupulously clean and was always dressed neatly.
- Holmes never exercised for the fun of it, even though he was proficient at Baritsu-a martial art, single-stick and fencing.
Well, what I am in the process of doing is the textbook definition of splitting hairs. Even without a strident voice or a scrupulously clean attire throughout the entire movie, the iron man still comes up with an award winning performance. So I didn’t get to see the old fashioned Sherlock Holmes with his hawk like nose and his violin and his famous quotes and the silent reverence held by Dr. Watson. But it was as if the movie makers were asking the question “What if things were different? Would you still like it?” To which I would say “Sure, why not?”
This movie did surprise me. Although it did not surprise me in the ‘will there be a sequel’ department. Every Super-hero movie has a sequel. And this Sherlock Holmes movie does come pretty close to being a super-hero movie. A hero movie, perhaps. Like Indiana Jones. What genre was Indiana Jones again?
The mystery theme with comedy element thrown in is a formula that seems to be working these days, both on the big and small screen. Let us face it, a traditional Sherlock Holmes movie today would just be another remake. This is a re-invention. This movie gives the audience plenty of opportunities to show more than one emotion. There isn’t much mystery in here though. More fighting sequences, and action than i would have anticipated. Also, I didn’t think that Irene Adler’s character in this movie carried as much strength as she deserved. She was after all ‘the woman’. In here she’s just ‘a woman’ who is supposedly a femme fatale, although I wasn’t convinced. And since I am being frank here let me add that the villain played by Mark Strong seems to bear a strong resemblance to the original Sherlock that I went through the trouble of describing in quite some unnecessary detail. Also Jude Law plays one of the strongest Dr. Watson character ever. I mean who would have thought that Dr. Watson would be beating up bad guys like that? It is like Batman and Robin in the 1800s. But then again, as I said already, they have almost completely personalized the whole thing, and variations like that are probably excusable. Probably.
All in all this movie is worth its money. It really recreates the world of Sherlock Holmes, what was limited mostly to closed room crime solving into an action packed adventure. Do watch it.
He has black hair and grey eyes, thin lips and ‘a hawk-like’ nose.
Holmes has a strident voice.
Although Holmes has never excercised for the fun of it, he is always fit and ready for the action that takes place in the stories, and is ready to see off
his attackers with either boxing or Baritsu-a form of martial art. He is also proficient at single-stick and fencing.
From the Audience Seat 
The unique honour of of being the first to comment on your blog is apparently mine. Many congratulations.
Though I belong to the old school of thought as far as remakes of classical stories/movies go, I am nevertheless open to experimentation. Your considered and able criticism compels me to watch it, and so I will. It does take a lot of courage to present popular characters in a radically different light. I will draw you attention to Satyajit Ray’s Bengali detective hero Feluda, or Saradindu Bandhyopadhyay’s Byomkesh Bakshi. Though films on both have been made and are still being made, their success depends solely on how accurately their nuances and body language are portrayed without deviating from the flavour of the original literature. That is a different challenge altogether. The Bengali audience at least is so conservative about these characters that any different take is a sure-shot formula for failure.
Western audiences, I believe, are more liberal in this regard, which is just as well. Perhaps we will get to see a different take on Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings one of these days!