Sherlock Holmes Trailer

[jaerdaph]

And jaerdeph, I'm afraid that neither this movie nor the "upcoming comedy spoof of Holmes" seems to me like any particular reason for Holmes fans to rejoice. Cringe, maybe -- did you maybe mean cringe?

Nope. I've been a Sherlock Holmes fan for many years*, and I like that Downey isn't going to be giving us the same old, same old Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett (or even Brent Spiner) performance (emphasis on the singular) yet again...

* A founding member of the now disbanded Bleecker Street Irregulars, an informal Sherlockian reading club slash gaming group when I lived in Greenwich Village many years ago.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

I dunno. The trailer looked pretty good.

 

[Wombat]

I very much enjoyed the SH spoof Without a Clue -

Without a Clue (1988)

Have to agree with you there -- that was a fun film!

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Holmes in the books is a drug-addicted eccentric (self-described "Bohemian") who lives in incredible mess and at the service of what seems much like manic cycles, including irregular sleeping and eating habits.

He also consorts with the dregs of society (the irregulars) and is fully capable of flat out action hero stuff when the story asks for it. He habitually lies to the police, has no aversion whatsoever to the finer points of breaking and entering, and can be quite a jerk when establishing that he is smarter than someone else. This is not far off from the trailer at all.

They removed the cold fish aspect of his personality to make him more likable. A change, yes, but not one I'm going to hang them for. Seeing how much of a showman he was in front of Watson of the police, the cold fish thing was either eccentricity or a straight up act, anyway. Yet, for some reason, that is the only aspect of his personality we have reliably seen on screen.

They extended his messiness to include personal hygiene. Gamers shouldn't be throwing stones about this.

And I think it's common to forget that the character was also a boxer in the books. Oh, look... that was in the trailer, too.

Oh, and they made him actually interested in sex, apparently. Heavens forfend that a drug addicted manic depressive should also be interested in sex.

 

[Richards]

There was only ever one woman for Holmes...Irene Adler. She was THE woman, in his own words. Seeing him handcuffed naked to a bed seems incredibly demeaning to the world's greatest consulting detective. And his rooms at 221B Baker Street were cluttered, not filthy. I have a hard time buying a Sherlock Holmes with personal hygiene problems - unless he was specifically going undercover as a homeless vagabond or something, in which he would immerse himself in the role as he did everything else.

But hey, if you like this exciting new direction, maybe someday they'll make a film where Holmes succumbs to pedophilia with the Baker Street Irregulars, or spends his spare time cutting up prostitutes with a surgical scalpel in an attempt to get some excitement into his life between cases. And hey, while we're at it, why don't we upgrade stodgy old Watson into an alcoholic wife-beater who strangles kittens whenever he's sloshed? Gosh, won't that be edgy?

I think I'll stick to the more traditional interpretations of the characters, thanks. [Dismounts from soapbox]

Johnathan

 

[Darth Shoju]

There was only ever one woman for Holmes...Irene Adler. She was THE woman, in his own words. Seeing him handcuffed naked to a bed seems incredibly demeaning to the world's greatest consulting detective. And his rooms at 221B Baker Street were cluttered, not filthy. I have a hard time buying a Sherlock Holmes with personal hygiene problems - unless he was specifically going undercover as a homeless vagabond or something, in which he would immerse himself in the role as he did everything else.

But hey, if you like this exciting new direction, maybe someday they'll make a film where Holmes succumbs to pedophilia with the Baker Street Irregulars, or spends his spare time cutting up prostitutes with a surgical scalpel in an attempt to get some excitement into his life between cases. And hey, while we're at it, why don't we upgrade stodgy old Watson into an alcoholic wife-beater who strangles kittens whenever he's sloshed? Gosh, won't that be edgy?

I think I'll stick to the more traditional interpretations of the characters, thanks. [Dismounts from soapbox]

Johnathan

I thought the trailer looked a little dodgy myself, but this tirade was a little much, don't you think?

 

[Mouseferatu]

But hey, if you like this exciting new direction, maybe someday they'll make a film where Holmes succumbs to pedophilia with the Baker Street Irregulars, or spends his spare time cutting up prostitutes with a surgical scalpel in an attempt to get some excitement into his life between cases. And hey, while we're at it, why don't we upgrade stodgy old Watson into an alcoholic wife-beater who strangles kittens whenever he's sloshed? Gosh, won't that be edgy?

Oh, please. There are degrees of interpretation and/or deviation from source material. Somebody enjoying a character change of X amount for a new interpretation doesn't automatically mean they'd enjoy a change of Y--and it certainly doesn't invalidate either their own enjoyment or the creative approach.

Does this movie looks like it follows Holmes "canon"? No, it does not. Does it look like a viable interpretation of the character that might capture the core of who/what he is, even if it tosses out some of the details? Well, I haven't seen the movie yet, but it looks to me like it's at least possible, yes.

 

[Richards]

And that's fine. For those of you who think you may enjoy it, I hope that you do. My (extreme) dislike of what I've seen thus far just means I will definitely not be attending it. I'm not trying to persuade you not to see it, just explaining why I will not be doing so -- and, in return, please don't waste your time explaining to me why I'm foolish for feeling the way that I do. Sherlock Holmes is one of my oldest heroes and remains one of my hot-buttons; I'm not likely to ever be convinced that this film was a good idea.

Johnathan

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

And that's fine. For those of you who think you may enjoy it, I hope that you do. My (extreme) dislike of what I've seen thus far just means I will definitely not be attending it. I'm not trying to persuade you not to see it, just explaining why I will not be doing so -- and, in return, please don't waste your time explaining to me why I'm foolish for feeling the way that I do. Sherlock Holmes is one of my oldest heroes and remains one of my hot-buttons; I'm not likely to ever be convinced that this film was a good idea.

Johnathan

But ... but... I had really convincing arguments prepared!

 

[Klaus]

Holmes in the books is a drug-addicted eccentric (self-described "Bohemian") who lives in incredible mess and at the service of what seems much like manic cycles, including irregular sleeping and eating habits.

He also consorts with the dregs of society (the irregulars) and is fully capable of flat out action hero stuff when the story asks for it. He habitually lies to the police, has no aversion whatsoever to the finer points of breaking and entering, and can be quite a jerk when establishing that he is smarter than someone else. This is not far off from the trailer at all.

They removed the cold fish aspect of his personality to make him more likable. A change, yes, but not one I'm going to hang them for. Seeing how much of a showman he was in front of Watson of the police, the cold fish thing was either eccentricity or a straight up act, anyway. Yet, for some reason, that is the only aspect of his personality we have reliably seen on screen.

They extended his messiness to include personal hygiene. Gamers shouldn't be throwing stones about this.

And I think it's common to forget that the character was also a boxer in the books. Oh, look... that was in the trailer, too.

Oh, and they made him actually interested in sex, apparently. Heavens forfend that a drug addicted manic depressive should also be interested in sex.

Well put. And imagine if this movie is (as probably intended) the start of a series of Holmes pics, and Watson's influence on Sherlock eventually brings him closer to the Sherlock we know.

I do agree that past interpretations of the character in movies often lacked the physical side of Holmes.