The Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is enjoyable fiction that has millions of fans across the world over a hundred years. It glorifies reason, logic, and observation of facts. I do not consider myself a fan, but have enjoyed reading several of the novels and short stories. The BBC has created a successful television series featuring the Holmes and Watson characters in a modern setting. I have seen one of those episodes, and it did not seem too bad, though the focus on Holmes as a drug addict was a bit grotesque. The new movie is based on the characters from the TV series. The movie is advertised as a a period piece set in Victorian England. One expects a classic story in the Arthur Conan Doyle style.
I found myself in front of a Television set a few days ago, an unusual occurrence. I was visiting. Without an Internet connection, and constrained at another persons residence, a new movie based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character, set in Victorian England, sounded as though it would offer entertainment. I was wrong. One word from the movie's title describes it. Abominable.
If you are a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, I advise you not to watch this movie. After I had seen it, I sincerely regretted wasting my time in doing so. To put it bluntly, the movie is a very bad example of bait and switch.
There are some interesting guns in the movie. There is a pair of 1873 Colt revolvers, a double barrelled shotgun, some Webleys that seem to be interchanged without regard for consistency, but there is little consistency in the movie.
I will avoid spoilers. It is not hard, as there is hardly any plot to the movie. There is no deduction, no facts, no line of reasoning based on minute and accurate observations of detail that an acute observer could use to advantage. This is not a mystery or detective story; this is a psycodrama based on emotion, illusion, and most importantly, a glorification of political correctness.
There seems to be only one constant theme in the movie; a desire to degrade the image of Sherlock Holmes and Watson; to attack everything that made the original series enjoyable and entertaining, as a way to glorify and justify current politically correct attitudes.
In one scene Holmes is completely taken in by an obvious disguise that Watson immediately sees through, as does probably 95% of the theater audience. Such deception is simply impossible for the character in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novels.
I watched it. I was disgusted. It was something you would expect in an Orwellian universe where history has to be altered to fit the current political scheme.
In defense of the writer, he did not do this to an actual Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story, but created an entirely new abomination.
For that, I guess, I can be thankful.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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According to Guinness World Records, Sherlock Holmes is the "most portrayed movie character," with more than 70 actors having played the sleuth in over 200 films.
Several of the best depictions are first by the Russian actor Vasily Livanov, whose depiction was praised by Conan Doyle's daughter as most authentic.
Peter Cushing played the role at times from 1959 to 1984, generally very close to the source material.
Basil Rathbone was long regarded as the definitive Holmes, though his wartime movies often involved anti-Nazi plots.
But the all time great performances, the definitive set of Conan Doyle's works is by Jeremy Brett. Brett played Holmes 41 times over 10 years, from 1984 to 1994, and it can be said he was consumed by the role, his death a year later attributed to stress from the role and the untimely death of his beloved wife.
The big point missing here is that this is not a stand-alone movie. This is more of a transitional teaser between two seasons of the TV show. I can understand completely coming up with this conclusion watching it as a movie on its own. For fans of the TV series who follow it, the show made sense in where the last season left off.
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