Sequels. Many many movies have had a sequel. And most of them have done it poorly. I was worried that the trailer's promise that this movie was "better than the original" would fall short, as many sequels do. So I went in wanting an expectational movie, but expecting much less. I got the movie I wanted, not the one I thought I would get. It was the sophisticated, classy, fast paced, and witty movie it needed to be. Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) is sporadic, a little manic, and always brilliant. When things almost got out of hand, somehow he pulled it all into a plan that was either built, or one that fell into place by accident. Not once did it seem to be clunky. The plot moved nicely from point to point. Being a detective movie about one of the histories greatest detectives, Holmes' logic was sometimes hard to follow, but given a recap to the slightly slower Watson (Jude Law), things became clear.
Rated PG-13 with some blood, guns, some ladies with old-fashioned dresses, and no swearing. 2 hours and nine minutes was the perfect amount of time. At one point I thought it was almost over, that we had reached the climax. It was a teaser, and the next climax was for real and much better than the first. I only have one issue with the movie. The last 30 seconds was a shame. More on that in the comments, no spoiler here. Overall I was beyond pleased with the movie, and it was worth my time, and so it is worth your time. As for a 3rd in the series, who knows?
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
ReplyDeleteThe last few seconds of the movie almost made me hate it. In fact the more I think about it the madder it makes me. If you read further, this will spoil the end, read on at your own risk.
At one point Holmes dies. Watson watches him plummet to his death saving the world. Good ending. Stop there. Show Watson at the funeral. And show him getting the package, and opening it, and asking who brought it. Roll credits. Stop. No more. Showing Holmes get up from the chair ruins the mystery of whether or not there will be another movie. Okay, so he is not dead, cool, but then for him to put that question mark at the end of "The End," pitiful. Cliche and completely removes any doubt of a 3rd movie. (Which is why I put my cliche last sentence on my post, as a way to show my displeasure.) But if the next movie is going to be anything like this one, we wont be let down, expect by the last few seconds.
Nice review of the movie. Downey Jr makes a very interesting Sherlock Holmes.
ReplyDeleteI liked the first movie. I need to check this one out.
Cheers!
You definitively should. I took a look at your blog page, seems you have a real thing for Holmes. (I checked you out to see if I knew you, turns out I do not. Congrats on being the first ever stranger to comment on one of my blogs.)
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