Sherlock Holmes - RDJ

Joe Brody

Well-known member
The Man said:
SherlockHolmesShoWest-09.jpg

That poster screams League of Extraordinary Gentlmen, but everything I've seen about the film seems more like Mary Reilly-ish production value.
 

The Man

Well-known member
ShoWest: The Lowdown...

Sometimes, ShoWest does pull out a few unexpected surprises, and while it was always known that Warner Bros. President and COO Alan Horn would be giving the welcome remarks at the State of the Industry Update, he used his time to also give a preview of some of Warner Bros.' upcoming movies, including showing the first footage of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams.

An even bigger surprise was the actual presence of Downey, who took a break from preparing for Iron Man 2 to introduce the footage to the theater owners in the audience. After coming out to applause and being hugged by Horn, Downey Jr. joked that Horn hugs him every time he sees him now though that it wasn't always that way.

It opens with eerie music and shadowy scenes of Victorian London and we see a shot of Downey's Holmes running down a spiral staircase and another of him smoking his trademark pipe as a voice-over tells Holmes that he needs to "widen his gaze" because he's underestimating the "gravity of coming events." The voiceover tells Holmes that at the dawn of the new day, the world as he knows it would end, to which Holmes responds playfully, "Well, there isn't any time to waste then" and he jumps out the window.

We get a brief glimpse of Eddie Marsan's Inspector LeStrade saying something about someone seeing Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong's villain in the film) rising from the grave, and Holmes is asked to find and stop him, which Holmes claims will "take every ounce of my not inconsiderable experience." To that, LeStrade comes back with a slam about it maybe being a hobby to Holmes, but that he does it for a living. (This confirms what Marsan told us last year about their working relationship not being a particularly friendly one.)

Holmes says that he needs to have someone with him that he can thoroughly trust, at which point we see him greeting Jude Law's Dr. Watson and we get a bit of the rapport between them, as the two of them squabble about the things roommates normally argue over, Law complaining about Holmes playing the violin late at night and his "lack of hygiene."

After that, we get a bit of the interaction between Holmes and Rachel McAdams' Irene Adler, as they scuffle, her pulling out an ornament from which sharp blades jut out to threaten Holmes. That interaction ends with him left chained to a bed. Watson finds him in that state and asks, "Holmes, does your depravity know no bounds?" to which Holmes replies, "No." (Later we see Adler in a very sexy outfit, as McAdams' credit is shown.)

Another scene shows Holmes facing a much larger opponent, who looked like Nathan Jones, the giant from the opening of Troy, atop what looked like a clock tower. Jones is wielding an enormous sledgehammer while Holmes is carrying just a standard everyday hammer, which he promptly throws at the giant hoping that would do some damage. (It doesn't, and the giant attacks.) This scene got a huge laugh from the audience.

There was a quick-cut montage of more action scenes before a scene where a maid walks into a room and screams, dropping the tray she was carrying. We cut to Downey chained to a bed naked except for a pillow covering his genitals, and he asks her to remain calm and that under the pillow is the "key to his release" and the shocked woman runs out screaming.
 

A2Steve

New member
Too bad an idea batted about around 2000-2002 never came to fruition" "Sherlock Holmes and the Vengeance of Dracula."

http://movies.ign.com/articles/380/380117p1.html


From what I remember about the script, Moriarty and Dracula were working together on some evil plot (as if they could nothing else!) and it was up to Holmes to stop them. It had a lot of buzz, just from the script, but nothing ever came.

My guess is it was still better than "Freddy vs Jason," but the world may never know now... :eek:
 

RedeemedChild

New member
To be honest with you I was never really interested in Sherlock Holmes until was about 12 or 14 and I happened across an anime-esque program called Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century.
 

Hawkeye

New member
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Hawkeye

New member
I'm a Sherlockian, but not to the point where I can't appreciate or accept anything that changes some details about the characters. I'll definitely be seeing this when it comes out on X-mas. The scene with Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, when she's wearing that skimpy outfit... Oh man, that alone is worth the price of admission.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
Bjorn Heimdall said:
Why has Andy Garcia changed his name to Mark Strong?:p

Indeed...

Hawkeye said:
I'm a Sherlockian, but not to the point where I can't appreciate or accept anything that changes some details about the characters. I'll definitely be seeing this when it comes out on X-mas. The scene with Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, when she's wearing that skimpy outfit... Oh man, that alone is worth the price of admission.

...indeed!
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
This agency stands flat-footed upon the ground, and there it must remain.

Hawkeye said:
I'm a Sherlockian, but not to the point where I can't appreciate or accept anything that changes some details about the characters.

There is point, however, that when passed starts to change the character into something else entirely; a change that an audience may or may not appreciate, but is well outside the acceptable parameters. The introduction of aliens into Indy's official canon is way out of line for many fans, myself included. The de-evolution of Marcus Brody from somebody who could've been Indy's mentor into a bumbling fool that gets "lost in his own museum" is another. Zorro: Generation Z is another; having a Tornado-Z motorcycle, a Z-phone, a Z-pod, and a lightsaber with the hilt guard and pommel of a saber, does not make you Zorro. That's Batman.

And despite the fact that Holmes has squared off against Dracula it all amounted to so much pastiche -- cobbled together because the author had no real ideas for advancing the character. Doyle opened the door with "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire," but Holmes remained in 'character' searching for the scientific, rational answer to the case at hand.

With that said, this new movie looks interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing it, but if we're descending into full Victorian horror mode, then they've jumped well out of the range of Sherlock Holmes' purview. I doubt you could convince Holmes that vampires, demons, etc. exist. Holmes needs to be looking for the scientific answer, even if he can't come up with it.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
It's positively amazing at how quickly...

...somethings get pushed back in the stacks here.

In case you have not noticed, there is a second trailer up over at Apple's trailer site for RDJ's take on Sherlock Holmes. You can find the link for it here.


sherlock_holmes_rachel_mcadams_poster.jpg
 

avidfilmbuff

New member
Let me just say that I am a fan of Conan Doyle's stories, I haven't read all of them, but quite a few. The film lover in me is shouting "Give this film a chance." But the Sherlock Holmes fan within me is in a fetal position sucking his thumb after seeing the trailer. I mean wow, this is certainly not Sherlock Holmes, I have no problem with Robert Downey Jr., but judging from the trailer, the writer did a horrible job. First of all, even though his sexuality is up for much speculation, it's generally assumed he's an asexual, I don't know what obsession people have with Irene Adler, but there has never been any implication of a romance. Secondly, yes he is a very rude man, but not rude in a wisecracking manner, he's rude in an often antisocial manner, plus he's too damn serious to ever make any jokes. There were some accuracies, Holmes is a skilled fighter and he is a very sloppy man, so the scene in the trailer where Watson complained about his violin playing and his sloppiness actually managed to get a chuckle out of me. But they might as well have gotten Hugh Laurie to play Holmes, for the character I saw in the trailer was House not Holmes. But still, just because the film is unfaithful to Sherlock Holmes doesn't necessarily mean it will be a bad film, I'll give it a chance. But in my opinion, the two best portrayals of Sherlock Holmes, came from Peter Cushing and Jeremy Brett.
 
avidfilmbuff said:
...I don't know what obsession people have with Irene Adler...

She's a strong female character, whose aptitude and acumen eclipses those of at least one king.

I think that's reason enough...
 

avidfilmbuff

New member
Rocket Surgeon said:
She's a strong female character, whose aptitude and acumen eclipses those of at least one king.

I think that's reason enough...

I meant what obsession do people have with the chances that she and Holmes are romantically involved. Irene Adler is an interesting character for she is one of the few people who managed to outsmart Sherlock Holmes, but come on, there is absolutely nothing between them. Not every relationship between members of the opposite gender has to be romantic.
 
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