The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes

Yesterday I finally sat down and started watching the first series of Sherlock, the BBC television series, which is an adaptation of the works by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Scottish author and physician Doyle created the character of Sherlock Holmes in 1887, in a series of short stories.  Holmes is seen as a "consulting" detective for Scotland Yard; he uses an acute sense of logical reasoning, has a knack for disguises, and forensic science to help solve crimes.  Doyle's characterization of this man, has left an indelible mark of literature that has moved into being an important part of film and television.

In more recent years Sherlock Holmes has captivated audiences in many different methods.  One of the most interesting adaptations, or interpretations is the television series House (or House M.D.).  Gregory House (played by Hugh Laurie) is a cantankerous doctor who uses that insane acute logical reasoning, along with medical knowledge to help his team solve medical mysteries at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.  House's confident and closest friend is Dr. James Wilson, the more kind hearted, and level headed of the pair.  Most loyal fans of the show have seen this connection, but to everyday viewer probably misses out on how Doyle's massively famous detective influenced television creator David Shore.  Shore brilliantly deduced that Holmes popularity could be translated in a not so obvious way to Laurie's sarcastic doc.  The show was a massive success and recently just ended its series run this past May.

In 2009 Sherlock Holmes received a more literal adaptation with film distributed by Warner Brothers entitled, go figure, Sherlock Holmes.  This film centered on 1891 London and the the relationship between Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his trusty side-kick Watson (Jude Law) as they investigated the supposed death of Lord Blackwood.  The film, directed by Guy Ritchie,  was released on Christmas Day, opened to decent reviews, and made a large sum at the box office proving that the legend of this famous detective had a lot of bite.  Two years later in 2011 Ritchie returned to the directors chair, and brought back Downey Jr. and Law in the sequel entitled Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  The sequels reviews were not as strong, and audiences did not show up right away but in the slow holiday season, audiences returned to 221 B Baker to watch Holmes take on his arch nemesis Professor James Moriarty (Jarred Harris).

The real crowning achievement (quality wise) in the world of adaptations is the recent BBC adaptation of the classic story.  The television series entitled Sherlock, stars Benedict Cumberbatch as a modern day Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson his faithful sidekick.  This modern birthed by Mark Gattis, and Steven Moffat puts Holmes and Watson in similar mysterious situations, but uses modern day touches to help carefully create beautiful stories.  Steven Moffat's writing is brilliantly paced, and within what the Brits call the first series (or season) the three episodes explore mysteries with a commercial free 90 minutes that allows the mystery, and character development to unfold nicely.  Gattis and Moffat use classic Holmes stories to help construct their modern day adaptation of this story.  One of my favorite aspects of the show is that Watson is a blogger instead of a physician turned author, that minor detail never feels trite or pandering merely the sign these men know how to construct a modern adaptation of classic literature.

In the fall Sherlock Holmes is getting an American adaptation with the television series Elementary.  The differences are that Holmes is moving the New York, and his sidekick is Joan Watson a female played by Lucy Lui.  Obviously one of the differences here is that the homoerotic undertones to Holmes will be missing in this series, which are beautifully woven in the BBC version.  This show could be a massive success because of the lore of the character, and it's on CBS, which will pull in a wide demographic.  The major question is why does this character translate so well?

These television shows, and films are just a hand full of the most recent adaptations within 2000s.  Before the 2000s there were films dating as far back as 1939, and television series adaptations as recent as the 1980s.  This character's intense ways for crime solving are indelible.  Doyle left a lasting mark in literature that has evolved into more recent mediums of popular culture, much like the way Shakespeare influences popular culture today.  The character of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson are the perfect dynamic duo, they complete each other signifying this great push and pull.  There is chemistry on friend level, which allows these two men to work congruently as they fight crime, and solve the most fascinating mysteries.  People love well plotted mysteries (they even love poorly plotted ones), but within this varying adaptations we are left with incredible adaptations of one of the most complicated men, solving mysteries, what more could modern day audiences want?  Nothing.

Game of Shadows is Entertaining but Lacks the Drive and Wit of the First Film

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Directed by Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes, Snatch, Rock N Rolla)
Written by Michele and Kieran Mulroney (Paper Man)
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris and Noomi Rapace



While watching the first film, I know I asked myself the question, why isn't Sherlock Holmes facing his mortal enemy Professor Moriarty?  Well the team behind this film series including Guy Ritchie planned for this to be successful and did not want to delve into the rivalry right away.  Smart move!  The first film set up the second, and made audiences excited to see the rivalry play out.  The big question is was the pay off worth the wait, I would say somewhat.

The background of Game of Shadows centers around 1893 Europe, and the tension rising between France and Germany.  Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) believes that Moriarty (Jarred Harris) is at the center of the tension between these two countries and Holmes with his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson (Jude Law) are on the case to prevent Moriarty from sending the World into the first World War.

While Ritchie knows how to pack a punch with slow motion action sequences, they almost become stylistically obnoxious.  The problem with this film is that while yes it was entertaining and funny it loses the center of gravity from the first film.  Holmes going on adventures in other countries was fun, but I missed his bantering with Chief of Scotland Yard, and the way that the cases did not have take him on such a grand scale adventure.  I have not read all of Conan Doyle's books, but in the few that I have I love that Holmes mysteries brought out the great character, while this film just seems to want to bring explosions.

Law and Downey Jr. have great chemistry, and I am glad they kept the homoerotic undertones of their relationship.  This to me is one of the best parts about how the writing explores their characters.  Harris was a solid Moriarty, and I appreciate that they did not go over the top with him.  Rapace was merely window dressing to this entirely male driven story.  The real beauty of this film is the art direction and the way Niall Moroney and her team construct the beautiful scenery. This film provided some laughs and entertainment, but was a letdown from the first film.

What Happened to Sequels in 2011?

While on the train from Boston to go to my families for Christmas I watched The Hangover II.  I had not seen the second film in theaters.  I saw the first film three times in the movies.  The Hangover was this movie that came out of nowhere with no true major celebrities, and it was hilarious.  The script was off the wall crazy, chronicling a bachelor party gone wrong.  While on the train home my face never changed, and I rarely cracked a smile or laughed while watching the sequel.  The Hangover II took away the fun of the first film.  The film felt as though it were close to being a shot for shot remake of the first film just set in a different country, and centered around a different characters wedding.  Todd Phillips has turned his characters into caricatures that are just awful people.

In a year filled with with a continually struggling economy the movies have felt the impact, and sequels were hit hard.  Ironically The Hangover II while being critically panned was one of the highest grossing films of the year, and proved to be financially successful.  Domestically the film is the fourth highest grossing film of 2011 and has made 254 million dollars.  What is even more impressive is that this typically "American" film has made even more in in foreign markets grossing 327 million dollars.  The total gross for this film is 581 million dollars.  While this was a terrible film, this was a huge success at the box office.


Even though the film was a huge hit this raises a problem for future films in this series.  I would imagine both Warner Brothers (production company) and Todd Phillips will want to make another film making this a trilogy.  With the cost of movies going up audiences are paying attention to the quality of films more than ever.  People are not willing to pay 10 dollars at an actual theater to watch a bad film.  Sure there were enough people who went to see the Jack and Jill but that's another story.


This December 16th through 18th (2011) weekend helps to prove that sequels are losing traction.  Three major sequels opened up in theaters, two of the openings were major letdowns, while the third had a surprise opening and will be seen as a hit.

The number one movies at the box off was Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  The first film in the series had decent reviews, but divided audiences on the quality of the film.  The first film still had opening weekend of 62 million and eventually grossed 209 million (domestically).  The sequel opened at  a lower opening rate of about 35 percent.  The film opened at 39 million dollars.  For the film to be seen as a success during this crowded holiday season Holmes needed to match the opening of the first film.  As of right now the film is being outdone by Mission Impossible and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Holmes will most likely come in third this weekend and lose a lot of ground.  I hope Robert Downey Jr. starts to walk away from these series and starts to go back to acting in better smaller films.  Sherlock Holmes is a bankable series name but this film will not match the 209 million.


The number two movie at the box office this past weekend was Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.    Now it is no surprise that three of these films always get slammed by critics and viewers go to see them as more of a family outing.  The first film was released in 2007, and surprised many, grossing 217 million dollars domestically and 144 foreign.  The sequel or as they called it the squekquel grossed 219 million domestically and 223 foreign for a total of 443 million dollars.  I think many box office gurus expected this film to either be just as successful or if not a little more successful than its predecessor, but surprisingly it was not.  The film only had measly opening of 23 million, when it was expected to have double that.  With so many films opening this weak the Chipmunk films sliding back there is no way this film will make it to the theaters again.  I see straight to DVD in their future.

The third film at the box office was the smartest and the reason why some sequels succeed and others do not.  Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol opened in only 425 theaters with IMAX technology.  Watching this film on an IMAX screen was a truly awesome experience, and the film itself is pretty damn good!  When JJ Abrams took over producing the third film I knew this franchise was on the upswing.  Abrams knows how to  put together quality films and television, because he cares about the subject material.  With such great buzz about the IMAX experience fans are coming back to this series and are going to make this the number one film during the holiday weekend.


The truth of the matter is that quality matters (most of the time) and it can have an effect on the outcome of a films ticket receipts.  How do I explain the Transformers and Twilight box off numbers?  Easy.  Both film series have such avid fans that even if the films are bad they will show up, and they will show up several times to watch Megatron or Bella give birth to a gross vampire baby.  The same can be sad for the Harry Potter series.  The Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the highest grossing film of the year.  Fans will also turn against a series, like with comic book sequels.  Iron Man 2 did not do as well as it was expected to do because the film was a bit of a letdown.  Audiences are not always stupid.


The truth of the matter is that sequels will always be around, but I hope that companies see that they are not always as bankable as they seem to be.  Films like Bridesmaids (169 million), The Help (169 Million), Super 8 (127 million) and even Midnight in Paris (57 million) prove that there are success stories in original work.  I hope that studio executives see that they do not always to try and go for a brand, but that they can recognize that there is merit in working with original films.