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Final Sherlock Holmes Trailer

A final trailer for the upcoming “Sherlock Holmes” movie directed by Guy Ritchie... more

allanford
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A Study in Dread: Sherlock Holmes (2009)

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There is a consuming sense of dread deep in the pit of my stomach regarding the Sherlock Holmes as envisioned by Guy Ritchie. Many fans of Holmes I am sure feel this way, but I would like to put down exactly why I feel the way I do so maybe the not-as-initiated can understand the trepidation experienced by those who ‘get’ Holmes.

*Yuk! Girls!*

The first red flag of any Holmes pastiche is the inclusion of Irene Adler. Adler was directly involved in one Original Canon (OC) story and was barely referenced in three others. That’s it. Holmes was not obsessed with Adler; Holmes only thought of Adler as a worthy opponent – indeed the only opponent in the OC that beat Holmes; There was no secret crush, no infatuation, no wistful belly-aching.

Holmes was very Zen regarding emotions. Attachments and emotion got in the way of pure reasoning, hence he had no use for it. To quote the man himself:

-- “It is of the first importance,” he said, “not to allow your judgment to be biased by --personal qualities. A client is to me a mere unit, — a factor in a problem. The emotional --qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning. I assure you that the most winning woman I --ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money, and --the -most repellant man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a --quarter -of a million upon the London poor.”

Holmes had no care for women other than how they were involved in the chain of reasoning to a problem. He considered them the weaker sex, was very gender-biased, and Adler was the one exception. End of story.

I am assuming that Adler will somehow be mis-used in the story. I think it is safe assumption because, frankly, the only way to use Adler is to mis-use her. She simply has no place in a Holmes narrative. I’m betting on a love interest angle, but even if not, it is an un-needed complication and distraction.

*Holmes. Sherlock Holmes.*

Based on the trailers for the upcoming movie, “Sherlock Holmes” appears to be more of a Victorian era James Bond or Jason Bourne than anything resembling Sherlock Holmes. Gadgets, explosions, physical humor, and – inexplicably – some type of fight club seem to haunt every piece of footage released regarding this movie.

I’m not sure how many great explosions there were in London in the mid to late 1800s, but I am guessing that there were less than the amount shown just in the trailer for “Sherlock Holmes.” Dr. No type villains with an arsenal of nuclear weapons did not exist in Victorian times England. This seems to be a case of villain absurdity nearing Wild Wild West proportions if the released scenes are any indication.

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