To me the movie was an entertaining enough action flick (really too long though, what was the story again?), but that doesn't contradict that I find myself agreeing with all of your thoughts. The clothes are an excellent point - SH made me research Victorian men's clothes like a mad thing and then RDJ was such a slob. Booh! I don't see Holmes dropping his Stradivarius either. Ever. (This was my face ->DDD :) I think I enjoyed the movie, because I went in expecting nothing (or rather extreme OOCness) and Jude Law is really quite pretty.
(And if you'll allow my lazyness to think aloud, I'm a little concerned with RDJ becoming fandom-canon, because I really don't want to start sorting every contribution to this fandom.)
YES the Stradivarius! It actually made me wince :). And it is such a pity that they didn't manage to capture the elegance and diction of the Victorian age - this is one of the things that attracted me to the stories (and the Granada series!) in the first place.
When I look around fandom, I still see many, many Paget and Brett icons; and I think (and hope) that this will stay so. These depictions of Holmes are timeless, and in my opinion, the new movie isn't. People who are new to Holmes because of the movie (which is great of course) will either discover that there's more to it, or lose interest; at least that's what I think.
I'm going to pass over everything else you said, because while you make a few good points, none of them are relevant to my enjoyment of the film. I do, however, want to express that I strongly, very strongly disagree with this statement: "Watson doesn't have kind eyes." I've never liked Jude Law in anything (besides Gattaca - but again: irrelevant), but I love him in this, primarily because he expresses so much with just his face. Even when he's berating Holmes or mocking him, his face is full of fondness. Exasperation, too, but mainly fondness. Your mileage varied, apparently, which is fine, because as you pointed out this is all subjective, anyway. I just wanted to state my disagreement and stand up for Jude Law's FACE OF LOVE.
Haha, yes, that's really just me. I am an Edward Hardwicke fan, even though he's technically too old, because he embodies the kindness and warmth I see in "my" Watson.
Jude Law just didn't click with me - maybe because I have the (completely unfounded) impression that he's just not enough of a "down-to-earth" guy in real life. And that colors my view on his performance. Ah, whatever, each to his/her own. After your passionate declaration for Jude's face of love I will look more closely in the next movie :).
I suspect Jude Law's Watson will be less... for lack of a better word, bitchy in the next film, anyway, as in this one he spends most of his time arguing with Holmes, who is admittedly being a bit of a dick about Watson getting married. So yes, he is a bit mean, but it's justified, and his face belies every nasty word he says, anyway.
I'm going to shut up about Jude Law's face now, before you get the mistaken impression I'm either a) 14 years old or b) a Jude Law fangirl. I'm neither. Though he does have a spectacular moustache.
Though your comments made me sad because I adored the movie so much, I can understand somewhat where you're coming from. I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan and I was crazy for detail when the movies came out. I pointed out every flaw and change in the movies that was contrary to the books. But, I had to look at it from another perspective. Movies, most all the time, are like fanfiction. It's a fan's take on an existing story. I had to look at LOTR like that, and though it varies from the books in several ways, I enjoyed some it for what it was - an amazing movie. I guess that's how I look at the new SH movie too.
And...the score is awesome!!! I made two of the songs my ringtones :D
I am a LOTR fan too - and I loved the movies! Although they could not replace the pictures already in my head, I felt that the spirit of the book was (at least in some scenes) close, and I enjoyed watching this interpretation of a story which means a lot to me. It's the same with Holmes movies (and documentaries, like "Study in Sherlock", for example), really: I love to watch them because they are about "my boys" :). My problem with this movie was, however, that I did not recognise them at all. Nevertheless, I'm happy for everyone who did, and enjoyed it!
I've not seen it yet - I might not. But it seems that some of the things I was afraid of are actually present in the movie! I'm no Holmes expert, but I was right in guessing it wouldn't be the world I love so much.
I guess it really depends on what's important to you. If you care about the time period (costume, manner of speech, codes of conduct, ect) and some (for me elementary) characterization points of Holmes and Watson, it probably will be disappointing. It's as far removed from the BBC Audio Drama (which is my favourite adaptation) as it can be. But of course the movie has other points of interest - it's certainly very opulent :).
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(And if you'll allow my lazyness to think aloud, I'm a little concerned with RDJ becoming fandom-canon, because I really don't want to start sorting every contribution to this fandom.)
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And it is such a pity that they didn't manage to capture the elegance and diction of the Victorian age - this is one of the things that attracted me to the stories (and the Granada series!) in the first place.
When I look around fandom, I still see many, many Paget and Brett icons; and I think (and hope) that this will stay so. These depictions of Holmes are timeless, and in my opinion, the new movie isn't. People who are new to Holmes because of the movie (which is great of course) will either discover that there's more to it, or lose interest; at least that's what I think.
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Jude Law just didn't click with me - maybe because I have the (completely unfounded) impression that he's just not enough of a "down-to-earth" guy in real life. And that colors my view on his performance. Ah, whatever, each to his/her own. After your passionate declaration for Jude's face of love I will look more closely in the next movie :).
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I'm going to shut up about Jude Law's face now, before you get the mistaken impression I'm either a) 14 years old or b) a Jude Law fangirl. I'm neither. Though he does have a spectacular moustache.
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And...the score is awesome!!! I made two of the songs my ringtones :D
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It's the same with Holmes movies (and documentaries, like "Study in Sherlock", for example), really: I love to watch them because they are about "my boys" :). My problem with this movie was, however, that I did not recognise them at all. Nevertheless, I'm happy for everyone who did, and enjoyed it!
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As soon as I saw the trailer I shook my head at how sloppy Holmes looked.
JB and JB icons forever!
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