New Sherlock Holmes Movie

[Skrapwelder]

That is awesome. Where did you dig up the photos? I live just South of SF and am tempted to go in for a demonstration...

A couple of friends are members of the Botta Secreta group. I'm up in Sacramento so the commute to classes would be rough but I'm thinking of taking up the trek for the Singlestick classes.

[axabrax]

Saw it this afternoon--partially because I wanted to see the Bartitsu discussed in this thread, and I liked it quite a lot. Two thumbs up for me, and I am not really even that much of a Sherlock Holmes fan (of course maybe that's why I liked it; I have no real attachments to the traditional Holmes.)

[Hawkeye]

Agreed! Bartitsu looks jolly spiffing!
All I need to do now is grow the sort of facial hair that could stop traffic!

[gamer Mac]

Went to see this today and thought it was great. Well worth the trouble getting through the snow.

[P_Clapham]

I was very pleasantly surprised by the movie.  Granted I did go in with low expectations, generally not a fan of literary adaptations.  Guy Ritchie seemed to have nailed the feeling and genre rather well.  It certainly wasn't Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett.  It's a different and refreshing version of Holmes, that still remains true to the original source material. 

This Holmes as a few other folks have mentioned, is the more martial and gritty version of the consulting detective.  Robert Downey jr. makes the previous Holmes seem mousy in comparison.  Without giving away too much, here's a few other interesting tidbits from the movie.

There is a moderate amount of steam-punk in the film.  In fact the movie with it's dirty depictions of London, contrasted with the opulence enjoyed by the rich and entitled, almost epitomizes the steam-punk genre.  Of course there are several gadgets and nefarious devices found in the film, nothing too over the top.

In many ways I wish Guy Ritchie had gotten a hold of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen rather than Norrington.  The portrayal of the London sprawl in the film was just incredible.

[Gluteus Maximus]

Well, after generally positive comments, I'm going to see it tomorrow.

Even Mrs Maximus wants to come with me  , though I suspect it has more to do with well-honed male physiques than the foremost detective in Victorian Britain, but I could be wrong there 

I'm a huge Jeremy Brett fan, but I'm willing to go and see it with an open mind and no preconceptions. After all, I thought "who's this upstart, trying to outdo the saintly Basil Rathbone" before I saw my first Brett episode.

[d phipps]

I went with very low expectations but I’ll generally go to this sort of movie just to get ideas for terrain and such. Unfortunately, I genuinely found myself getting in to the story and enjoying the film – so much so that I neglected to take notes on terrain. Yeeesh, now I’ll have to go see it again.   

[Gluteus Maximus]

Watched it today and loved it. Plenty for the Holmes purist to cringe at maybe, but I was very impressed by the acting, sets, costumes etc. The script was pretty good too - enough twists I didn't guess and not too many anachronisms at all. It even had me chuckling several times. There was certainly more rough and tumble than usual for Holmes, but it all semed to fit in well and there was enough of the trademark genius and arrogance for him to be very believable. Dr Watson was actually an improvement, as he has now become a fitting companion and not just a dull-witted sidekick.

It's very fashionable to "re-imagine" characters at present, which is something I don't usually like, but I must say it works here. I was very dubious as to whether Guy Ritchie could handle the enormity of this sort of project, but overall I'd have to give him top marks.

Oh and Mrs Maximus also said she thoroughly enjoyed it, even though she wouldn't normally touch anything Holmes with a bargepole. As I heard her chuckling too, I have to believe her! 

The blatantly obvious "here comes the sequel" ending has got me enthusiastically looking forward to it 

[Malamute]

Watched it today and loved it. Plenty for the Holmes purist to cringe at maybe, but I was very impressed by the acting, sets, costumes etc. The script was pretty good too - enough twists I didn't guess and not too many anachronisms at all. It even had me chuckling several times. There was certainly more rough and tumble than usual for Holmes, but it all semed to fit in well and there was enough of the trademark genius and arrogance for him to be very believable. Dr Watson was actually an improvement, as he has now become a fitting companion and not just a dull-witted sidekick.

On that recommendation I shall go and see it tomorrow, unless we are snowed in which is forecast...

[Hammers]

It even had me chuckling several times.

If you look in the novels, the man was certainly not shying away from a bit of fisticuffmanship.

[Hammers]

On that recommendation I shall go and see it tomorrow, unless we are snowed in which is forecast...

You could always hope for something like The Tan Hill Inn 'Disaster' (The Guardian).

[Malamute]

You could always hope fore something like The Tan Hill Inn 'Disaster' (The Guardian).

Yes, I read that in the paper yesterday, it would have been most fortunate to have been stranded there.

[Driscoles]

a friend of mine is trained in this Bartitsu stuff.
I can introduce him to you Plynkes 

[Gluteus Maximus]

Yes, I read that in the paper yesterday, it would have been most fortunate to have been stranded there.

I don't know about "highest pub in the UK" - with a bar full of trapped students it would almost certainly be the dryest pub after a few hours 

[Hammers]

I don't know about "highest pub in the UK" - with a bar full of trapped students it would almost certainly be the dryest pub after a few hours 

Well, apparently it was pretty soon. The only draft beer left was Black Sheep's Riggwelter which hard to interpret as a favourable mentioning of said brand.