Sherlock: Case of Evil (2002)

I love this movie so much

So much average

Admirable film.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I can almost hear the pitch: "Let's make a TV movie about Sherlock Holmes just as he's starting out as a private detective...but let's make him so revisionist that all the old-fogey traditionalists will pop their belly-buttons. We'll put in sex, heavy breathing, sword fights, graphic drug use and more sex. We'll make Holmes an anti-hero. And we'll create so much buzz the follow-up movies will be as good as an annuity for us." They forgot something. While a revisionist look at old heroes and old plays can be more than welcome, better make sure the thing has wit and surprise, and that the cast can carry it off with charisma and style. Sherlock: Case of Evil, while it undoubtedly made the traditionalists huff and puff, fails at just about every other level. The plot? Who really cares when we can't care about any of the characters. For what it's worth, it has to do with Holmes' determination to strike down Professor Moriarty (Vincent D'Onofrio), who plans to do the same to Holmes while sending a newly invented drug, which lacks a name but seems to be crystal meth, to sell in New York City. Through Holmes' hazy recollections as a child we learn that Moriarty hooked Holmes' brilliant older brother, Mycroft (Richard E. Grant) on drugs. Since Mycroft is nothing but a plot device and Grant soon disappears from the movie, this is weak motivation for Holmes' hatred of Moriarty. We have a young Holmes, played by James D'Arcy with far too much intensity, who collects his own press clippings, seeks public acclaim, loves to nuzzle young beauties and is more than up for a drunken romp with two ladies of the street. D'Arcy was exceptional as Nicholas Nickleby; here, he seems more like a petulant puppy. The actor is prone to deep, meaningful gazes, intensity which is too actorly and a callowness which was appealing as Nickleby but which is unsatisfying as Holmes. One would think that under these circumstances D'Onofrio would walk away with the movie. Instead, he overacts. His Moriarty is little more than an effete bully with a bad English accent. In one extended scene when Moriarty, in a top hat and a cape, is leering threateningly at a young woman, the image which comes to mind is Charles Laughton in Jamaica Inn. At the conclusion we are supposed to recognize the origins of Holmes' loneliness, where he acquired his deerstalker cap and that pipe, and to recognize the affection which developed between him and Dr. Watson (who, by the way, he met in the morgue where Watson was apparently working as an autopsy surgeon for the city). In my opinion, this is an overwrought, melodramatic attempt to goose some life into a character who probably doesn't need it...or, if he does, should be given material much more clever than what we have.

This made for television movie proves once again that some of the best cinematic entertainments are turning up on the boob tube with little fanfare and sometimes no advance warning. This is definitely something I wouldn't have minded paying for in a theater!Case of Evil is a delicious, chilling, and welcome reinventing of the Sherlock Holmes mythos. It is well directed by Graham Theakston, moves along at a rapid pace, presents a well rounded cast and is fairly well designed for a low budget project. Holmes is a young man in this treatment with a young man's desire to experience the world. James D'Arcy is turning out to be one of the most promising of a new generation of British actors. He is simply superb here. Not content to just rattle off Holmes's lists of deductive prowess, he finds nuances in the character that are often overlooked and brings a very fresh face to a familiar personage.Roger Morlidge is equally interesting as Watson bringing a real sense of insight and medical intellect to a character that is too often a bumbling sidekick. This Watson is a partner to Holmes in every sense of the word.D'Onofrio doesn't disappoint either, creating a truly despicable villain. Richard Grant does a wonderful cameo as Sherlock's incapacitated brother.The rest of the cast is quite good and the screenplay takes us through a darned good yarn. Give this a try. It's already on DVD!

I saw this movie recently with the very greatest of hopes.I have been a Sherlock Holmes fan for as long as I can remember, so when I saw the box for this film on the shelves at my local video store, I yanked it up without even looking at the synopsis on the back. After watching the movie, I might have enjoyed the synopsis more...a LOT more. The characters were two-dimensional and under-developed at very best: no depth at all was brought to any one of them, but for the struggling Rebecca Doyle, portrayed by Gabrielle Anwar...and in this setting, finding anything to like about her was a struggle. James D'Arcy never even saw the mark in attempting to bring humanity to the legendary Holmes; he just came off weak and vacillating in D'Arcy's hands. Vincent D'Onofrio - of whom I am an incredible fan normally, and who is notoriously known as "the Human Chameleon" for his most uncanny ability to lose himself in a role - just phoned this performance in, when I'd have loved to have seen a far more layered interpretation of this legendary bad guy. Roger Morlidge does a serviceable job of Dr. Watson, but it's just not enough.The plot was presumptuous of far too much detail relevant to the Holmes legend to introduce such intricacies as the reasoning behind the heroin addiction suffered by he and his brother, without providing much substantive sub-plot to make it plausible...or even make us care.The fencing battles between Holmes and Moriarty are well-executed, but only consume a cumulative twenty minutes of the film at the very most. Writer Piers Ashworth didn't think outside the box in his creation of this "new perspective", he just created a new box and hopped right in. Director Graham Theakston didn't seem to even attempt to transcend the poor scripting with crafty, smart, or inspiring visuals.I just didn't get it.

The dullest,most unconvincing piece of acting since Anna Nicole Smith told everyone,she wasn't marrying the eighty year Texan Billionare for his cold hard cash. The accents are laughable...I was waiting for Dick Van Dyke to appear,and shout,"Cor blimey Sherlock Holmes..you're a proper gent and no mistake...Gawd bless you Guv'nor".. And as for you Richard E Grant...shame on you...give your agent a slap.