Sherlock Holmes

Here we are, people. We have waited patiently and with much anxiety for months for the release of Sherlock Holmes, and it is finally here!!! I had 2 hours of classes before I could zip by Walmart and pick up my own copy. Pure torture. My stomach was twisted up in knots in anticipation! After what seemed like ages, my last class of the day let out and I drove over to Walmart. No, I did not speed, though I was sorely tempted to talk my mom into it.

There, sitting on the shelf, was the movie. Very few copies were left, in fact. I didn't even glance at the other movies (though my mom forced me to go through the others before we left, grr). I swept up the DVD case and would not let it go until I could shelve it among my other movies. It looks quite lovely on the shelf. A perfect addition to my rather extensive movie library.

I was going to be a good and patient person, and wait until Friday night to watch the movie. But my friend Megan was down and she had not seen it as often as I. So we watched it. However, it was very loud with all of the dogs, and my dad hasn't yet gained from the pleasure of viewing said movie, so we'll probably watch it on Friday again anyway. In any case, I will need something to watch at the beginning of the weekend to wind me down. The first week of school always drives me to very nearly have a panic attack.

And I was wrong - there are not 3 direct quotes from the books. There are, in fact, 4. I will have to post them sometime.

My opinion of Sherlock Holmes has not diminished since my 6th viewing of it. Now that I have re-read the books for a 3rd time, I am even more adamant in my statement that this is the closest film version to the stories. Closer than Jeremy Brett and definitely closer than Basil Rathbone. I hope their sequel will be just as good as the first installment (and hopefully if they do end up casting Bad Pitt *shudder* as Moriarty, it will turn out to be a good choice). The makers walked a fine line with casting Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, but they managed to pull it off, as with many other elements. Now they should just rework their trailers . . . They probably could have found someone else to play Holmes just as effectively as Robert Downey Jr. did, but Downey displayed Holmes's energy level perfect, as well as his petulance, and he looked utterly pathetic and pouty when his feelings were hurt. Downey did well. And, of course, they could not have found a better person to play Watson or Mary. The level of action is not too absurd for a Holmes story, the dialogue is hilarious, and it is very much in keeping with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories.

The only "major" change they made was that Watson did not meet Mary Morstan through one of Holmes's cases, when, in fact, he did - The Sign of the Four. But in my Sherlockian opinion, it was an acceptable change for the movie. They did it well and it added to the hilarity.

The one scene my Sherlockian senses object to is the whole scene with Irene Adler at the Grand Hotel. While I laughed at Holmes being handcuffed to the bed with naught but a pillow to preserve his dignity, the likelihood of something like this appearing in one of the stories is unlikely. It was obvious that they put it in for cheap laughs, and it drew away a little from the Holmesian atmosphere the movie had. But not enough to ruin it.

And on another note - some people seem to think (Downey included) that Watson and Holmes's friendship is rather . . . gay. I have already debunked this stupid and absurd myth, but it's brought up something I've been meaning to post. In describing this, people tend to use the horrendous word "bromance." This word - unless used in jest, as in poking fun at the absurdity of the theory - is banned from my blog. I dislike censoring comments so, but I simply cannot stand that word.

Well, I must turn my attention to my Humanities paper now. Happy day, fellow Sherlockians! Enjoy your movie! I, in fact, declare this day Sherlock Holmes Day!! ;)