Sherlock Holmes GoS

[piplover]

Spoilers!  There are spoilers under the cut.  I am going to babble like a babbling thing about this movie, so you have been warned.  Read at your own risk, because I lay it all out there. 


First off, OMG.  I freely admit, I was worried a bit about this.  I wondered if they would fall into the same trap as so many sequels, where they end up killing the thing that made the first movie amazing. Too many times they go too far overboard and rather than being fun, a movie becomes silly.   Or action  becomes all the movie is about, or the characters are left behind to become caricatures.  But this.... Oh, I should have trusted. 

When the killed Irene, I was happy. Thrilled.  I didn't like her in the first one, and I thought she served no purpose in this, other than a catalyst.  I liked Irene in the books. She was a powerful, strong woman who was clever and who Holmes underestimated because of her gender.  I didn't like vixen Irene who was more whore than lady.  I don't think a woman has to be a bitch or a slut to be powerful.  A woman can be gentle, can be equal with a man and polite.  She doesn't have to try to and bust his balls every chance she has, and that's what I hated about Irene. She was so far from what the character originally was the only thing she shared was the name. So I'm glad they killed her. 

The stag night was funny. I liked how Holmes had become so obsessed with Moriarty that he totally forgot.  Probably on purpose, actually. It broke my heart, watching the movie, to see how much Holmes loved his Watson, and how it was breaking him to watch him leave.  Whether you see slash or just epic friendship, Watson was Holmes' rock. He kept him grounded and allowed him to flourish, and without him Holmes floundered.  They portrayed that beautifully. The scene right before the wedding, when Holmes took Watson's hand and they limped in together.... That was just... Right there. That's their friendship right there. 

Also, without his Holmes, Watson stagnated.  You could see it in the way he let loose at his stag party and with the gypsies.  He may think he wants marriage and kids and a steady job, but I can guarantee that within a year he would be bored silly and longing for adventure. 

Speaking of the gypsies, I liked Sim.  I loved her, in fact. She was a great character who wasn't trying to compete with the main characters, who was powerful in her own way. She didn't have to flaunt herself to try and prove herself, she simply was that amazing.  She had her own concerns, and her own connections.  She wasn't trying to play Holmes or Watson, and she added to the story rather than just sitting there as pretty window dressing.  So, finally!  A woman who had courage and brains and her own story. 

Mary. I hate movie Mary.  She was a simpering cow who I was all too happy to see pushed off the train. Yay, Holmes!  I absolutely loved when she was staying with Mycroft how he was going about naked to throw her off.  In my head, Mycroft knows how Holmes feels about Watson, and wasn't too happy with her.  So for his baby brother, he wandered around naked because he knew it would throw her off.  That, and he's Mycroft! 

There was so much action, and fighting, and torture, and the boys being boys.  But the ending. Oh, my.  The end.  When Watson comes through that door and, just for a moment, meets Holmes' eye, and then Holmes goes over the falls... My heart broke.  Holmes looked so utterly peaceful, accepting death, embracing it even, knowing his Watson was safe.  The contract between him and Moriarty was amazing and powerful, and all in the space of a few heartbeats.  

Amazing. This movie was wonderful. Funny and heartbreaking and powerful.  I know some people are put off by the lack of women, or the fact that there's too much action.  But Sherlock Holmes was never about the women. It was about these two amazing men, and their friendship, and the mysteries. If you want a story about women, then I hate to say it, but you're looking at the wrong fandom.  There were powerful women, but they were never the center of the stories, and they shouldn't be. 

There was action, too, but the original stories were action adventures! It was chasing criminals and fighting bad guys and taking down evil.  And this is a Hollywood movie. There's going to be explosions and fight scenes, which is a sad fact.

I only wish they had showed Holmes' brilliance more, showed his thought processes more and focused a bit less on his fighting abilities.

So, that's that. Not a very good review, I know. Mostly just me babbling about what I loved and didn't love about it.  Let me know your thoughts? 

Comments

[ingridmatthews.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's a grand death scene, that's for sure. Brilliant, actually.