Holmes & Watson Review

2018’s Holmes & Watson has earned a reputation for being one of the worst mainstream comedies made in recent years, ‘winning’ four Razzies. But does it deserve this reputation?

Sherlock Holmes (Will Ferrell) is the most celebrated detective in London despite being a pompous arse. Holmes and his loyal assistant, John Watson (John C. Reilly) face their toughest case when Professor James Moriarty (Ralph Fiennes) threatens to kill Queen Victoria (Pam Ferris) within four days.

Holmes & Watson was 86 minutes of cinematic torture: it’s as bad as the critics said it was. It was a great example of Will Ferrell’s comedy at its worst. It was a series of skits that go on for too long. The humour in the film could be placed into the following categories: screaming and yelling, overlong rants, humiliation, and modern things been given a Victorian twist (i.e. drunk texting and selfies). It all gets tiresome.

Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation has been adapted numerous times and there were many ways to parody the character. Holmes & Watson specifically targeted the Robert Downey Jr. films. These were films that were already made with a light touch and by focusing on that series Holmes & Watson parody was outdated because the most recent film that series came out in 2011. The parody was in-depth: this film copied the Holmes’ vision of the Downey films, the difference in Holmes & Watson was when Holmes predicted something it went wrong. This film’s version 221b Baker Street was looked identical to the Downey films and even the musical score copied the work from the more successful series.

Holmes & Watson had a great cast and they were all wasted. Actors like Steve Coogan and Hugh Laurie appear for one scene and cash in the paycheque. Ralph Fiennes literally plays a wanker and Kelly Macdonald was constantly humiliated in the film: in her first scene she was hit in the head with a cricket bat and she was shown to be sleeping with numerous historical figures. Rebecca Hall escaped with some dignity because she was playing the straight woman and Bella Ramsay looked like she was having fun as a hard knocks street urchin.

There was even some sloppy filmmaking on display. The best example of this came at the end when the villain taunts one of the heroes. The villain clearly had a line ADRed in post-production because their lip movement didn’t match the words being said.

There were the occasional nuggets of an idea for a joke like a psychic conversation. But these moments were too few and far between. Even some of the better jokes did have an obvious punchline. On a broader point, some jokes had to defy historical facts. No one expects much historical accuracy in a broad comedy, but this was a film that had Albert Einstein and the Titanic around in 1881. Basic knowledge ends up breaking the film.

Holmes & Watson has few redeeming features, failing to even do the basics for a comedy. There are many better Sherlock Holmes adaptations available to viewers.