SHERLOCK HOLMES - THE REVIEW

Early last week my wife said to me, "Did you see Sherlock Holmes is opening on Christmas day?"  Did I see it?  Of course I saw it.  I've been anxiously awaiting the premiere of this movie for over a year now.  But I figured I'd play it cool, see what she was up to.

"Yeah," I said.  "I saw that."

"Do you want to go see it Christmas night?" she said.

Yesssss!  "Um... sure," I said, "if you want to."

So we went to see Sherlock Holmes, you know, just to make the wife happy.  I'm usually not one for seeing a movie the day it premieres, but I was really anxious to see this one.  Besides, the idea of seeing a movie on Christmas night appealed to me.  Otherwise I'd have just spent the night sitting around stuffing myself with Christmas candy and baked goods until I felt like Jabba the Hut. 

And now for the obligatory review:  I like it.  I liked it a lot.  It was entertaining.  Funny.  Even exciting at times.  Downey and Law were great as Holmes and Watson.  I'd go so far as to call this the best buddy flick since Lethal Weapon.  And the production design is impressive, capturing the look of Victorian London as I'd imagined it.  I'll be buying the DVD as soon as it hits the stores.  And I'd go see a sequel, if there is one.  And rumor has it there will be.

The movie does have its faults.  Most notably, the action sequences sometimes became somewhat convoluted.  I attribute this to the quick-cut editing that was popularized by the Jason Bourne movies.  Not that there's anything wrong with quick-cut editing, but it can be overdone.  For a review by a professional reviewer (i.e., someone who actually gets paid to do this), check out this one on the CNN website.  I think it's pretty close to the mark.

There have been some complaints by Holmes purists (Sherlockians) about the fact that this movie is too action-oriented.  Having never read the works of Arthur Conan Doyle (an oversight I plan to correct in the near future, with the help of the Guttenberg Project), I'm not in a position to say whether they have a point.  For some perspective from someone who is, check out Holmes fan, and crime fiction writer, Rafe McGregor's analysis over at the Rap Sheet.  Also, there's a story on the CNN site about the reaction of some prominent Sherlockians to the movie.