Fine. I admit it. There’s no possible connection between “Sherlock Holmes” and “For the Man Who has Everything”*.
Nonetheless, here’s a review of “Sherlock Holmes”.
Three words: Violent. Funny. Excellent.
Visually it has exactly the beautiful, detailed darkness of the steampunk age that I hoped for. If I hadn’t just seen “Avatar”, I’d spend more time on how pretty it was (which is to say, very).
Also, it has Robert Downey Jr. Enough said. The man has enough charm to fall asleep for three hours and still be watchable. He is definitely in form. That didn’t surprise me either.
The thing that I loved (but didn’t expect) was the chemistry between Downey Jr and Jude Law. (The women were great too, but the film is mainly about the two men.) Every second of their dialogue was a delight.
Watson: “Are you. . . ?”
Holmes: “Am I. . . wearing a false nose? No.” [Then he jumps out the window – with his false nose on, naturally.]
Which is the main reason this, rather than “Avatar”, is a film I intend to own. Because it’s well written, well acted, well plotted, and worth watching over and over again.
*Except for a variety of tenuous ones, such as that both have a man in them.
I had two complaints about Sherlock Holmes. The first was that ridiculous electrical gizmo. There’s just so much wrong with it, from a reality point of view. The second was the deus ex machina from a flower (attempting to avoid spoilers here). I think this one annoyed me more, as it was a clue that was inaccessible to the audience. But, other than that, I did rather enjoy it.