Sherlock Holmes - The end?

First things first..... I loved the movie.

For all the fans of the detective from Arthur Canon Doyle's  book, this version of Holmes is blasphemous.
For all those who got the first taste of the great detective after watching the first installment, this movie is one hell of a joyride...
Take your pick.



For the original Sherlock Holmes fans....
Sherlock Holmes, the great detective, does not deduce anything in the movie. There is no mystery to solve here,no clues, no surprise elements.While the first part had not one but many puzzles to solve, this time around, the story is plain vanilla.
Here, Holmes is on a mission to stop Prof. James Moriarty from committing a dastardly act (no spoilers this time).

In the movie, Holmes is more of a brawler, master of disguise, cross-dresser & thief than a detective. There is precious little to "deduce". The script requires him to speak wittily, fire guns, run on rooftops,trains & woods and dress weirdly. He does what Ethan Hunt and James bond do (but for the dressing weirdly bit). What he does not do in the movie is not anything like what he does in the novels / stories ( 4 long & 56 short stories).

Instead of  investing more time in his characters, he chooses to invest time in the action surrounding the characters. Holmes and Watson continue from where they left off. Do not go in looking at any character development .
See how many time have I mentioned Holmes already? Agreed that this movie is about the high on spirits Holmes, but you cannot choose to give the others just pennies to play with.

For all the movie fans......

My appetite for big budget actioners just got bigger. This movie celebrates the action movie genre like no other. Holmes and the rest indulge in some splendidly choreographed action sequences that are as original as they come.The explosions, hand combats, gunfire, chase sequences are explosive, literally. Guy Ritchie seems to be besotted with his freeze frame technique and he gets Holmes to do it about 5 times in the movie. Not that we are complaining.

Downey Jr yet again turns up to impress. Playing this kind of a character (sometimes he slips into his Tony Stark mode) seems to have become a nice habit. He is equally effortless with the action sequences, as he is with his lines.
The rest of the cast, including the famed nemesis, play second fiddle to Downey Jr. Either they are given very little in terms of action or their lines are not as catchy as the ones that the leading man gets.

The second aspect that makes the movie immensely enjoyable is the music score by Hans Zimmer (The guy behind classics like Gladiator, Inception, The Lion King, Hannibal, Broken Arrow & many more). The music lends each scene great character.  The background score elevates the action / suspense sequence to a different level. Enough is already said and written about the theme music.

The third winsome aspect about the movie is the set direction. The art / set directors have paid huge attention to details and have re-created the era beautifully. From the Victorian era buildings, Trafalgar square, castles, roads, everything is top notch. The chess board motif runs through out the movie in either actual chess boards or floors with black & white checkered squares.

The cinematography, editing and CGI are all first rate. They further push the envelope as far as action movies are concerned. The action sequence in the train and the woods have been beautifully rendered on screen. Each explosion, each gunfire, each splinter looks spectacular.

So, did the movie win my vote? Yes it did. I did not have trouble finishing my tub of cheese-caramel pop-corn. The movie moves along in such blistering pace that, you tend to forgo most of the factual errors that the script has.
Nonetheless, it succeeds in having you spellbound and speechless in equal measure.
The first film of the year (technically last year) was worth the watch.
Hope 2012 throws up greater movies.