Sherlock Holmes is the protagonist of one of my favorite mysteries since I was a child. He was the first world renown detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887. I even bought a hardbound compilation of all his stories from a bookstore in Lucky Plaza’s basement. It only cost me S$12. A bloody steal!
So when I saw the trailer of the movie with the same name, I knew I had to go and watch it, especially since Robert Downey Jr was the lead. I loved him in Iron Man.
We went and watched it on Christmas day. It was a more exciting reincarnation of my hero. Sherlock is usually depicted as a detective in a trench coat, deerstalker, pipe and magnifying lens who likes to ruminate in his seat with his equally mild-mannered sidekick Dr. Watson, but in this installation, we see both characters as skilled fighters who kick ass and fire guns and jump to people’s rescue all over the place, all the time.
Holmes’s intelligence, which is the trait that his character is best known for, contributes to his knowing how to physically disarm his opponents. Though the story’s mystery itself is not so compelling (it felt more like a horror movie rather than a mystery for most of the film), the action sequences and Holmes’s and Watson’s witty banter make up for it.
I have to admit, though, that their heavy accent and rapidfire delivery of lines made the story kinda hard to follow at certain points. “Ano daw??” (What happened??) was a very common statement while we were watching. This is the reason why I prefer books sometimes. They’re a lot easier to absorb.
Nevertheless, I liked this movie. And I would go watch the sequel (they set up the ending for one).
