I have read the last adventures of Sherlock Holmes in their entirety, and particularly love "The Adventure of The Lion's Mane", in which he investigates what seems to be a brutal murder by a force unseen and unknown. By then, Holmes is quite old; he's grumpy and prefers to be left alone in his studies, which he would publish in a book on bee-keeping.
Ian McKellan has always been a good choice for Holmes. I recall that he may have played Holmes before in the theatre, but I can't be sure. Trying to research it now is impossible on the internet with the glut of articles that have come out about the new movie. Wikipedia doesn't list him, so I'll leave it at that. I find it hard to believe that he'd turned down Holmes all his life till now, but it is possible that he avoided the role on purpose. Many people refer to "the curse" which plagues artists who portray him, however - one or two have made it through unscathed as of recently.
We're to be treated to a cameo, through the appearance of Nicolas Rowe as a matinee version of Holmes in this new movie. I'm sure that most of you recall "Young Sherlock Holmes", wherein Nicolas did a splendid job in most difficult circumstances. I will be happy to see him again. More recently he has been working steadily in "Da Vinci's Demons".
All this is likely to stir up trouble; I have seen titles on articles reading "Cumberbitches Beware", all of this leading to putting down Benedict Cumberbatch's fans. I confess, I was completely enchanted with Cumberbatch's take on Holmes, and have yet to met a person who wasn't impressed by his portrayal.
More impressive was Martin Freeman as Watson. I wonder now: the artist in this new movie is Colin Starkey, known for his work in "Inspector Lewis". One can only hope that he will be as formidable as Freeman, or Hardwicke, who worked with Jeremy Brett for many years. Of course Jude Law has been wonderful in the RDJ adaptations, sporting the look of the younger Watson, fresh from Afghanistan.
It remains to be seen if this movie will do well in theaters. I don't expect it to be widely released, as it seems to be more of an art film that a front-runner. For now we will have to wait; its film debut was at an art film festival in Germany, making the chance of getting a hold of a screener copy pretty slim.
Break a leg, Ian. Here's a link to the trailer:
