Holmes & Watson - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Holmes & Watson

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I happen to be a massive Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fan and have been ever since I was in grade school. I purchases the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories with my allowance money at 12 years old and have that same old dog eared edition to this day after countless reads and re-reads. So naturally I tend to watch each of the varying Sherlock Holmes films over the day and have enjoyed most of them in varying degrees. The Guy Ritchie/Robert Downey Jr. films are kind of a guilty pleasure for being the least “Sherlock Holmes” of all the various iterations over the years, but I can honestly say that I’ve never seen a film quite like Holmes & Watson. I knew going in that this was going to be another John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell dirty comedy, but I wasn’t prepared for the absolute abortion that the film was actually going to be. This coming from a guy who guiltily likes Step Brothers and Talladega Nights for what they are. Holmes & Watson takes the typical humor stylings of the duo and just vomits forth a film that is as unappealing as it is uninspired.

The clues are all there, and it doesn’t take a genius to see that Sony/Columbia Tri Star didn’t have much faith in their newest comedy take on the classic Sherlock Holmes lore. The film’s marketing was nearly non existent, the critics weren’t invited to the screening, and the faint smell of horse manure emanating from the theaters were probably enough to warn most people away, but if you were one of the poor unfortunate souls that saw this in theaters I extend an empathetic apology for you having to sit through this mess.

The story is about as cliché as you could possibly imagine, with young Sherlock being portrayed as an abused and humiliated child by his schoolmates, forced to suppress his emotions in order to survive, which allows his internal brilliance to shine even more. Years later Sherlock (Will Ferrell) and his man Friday...errr….Watson (John C. Reilly) are kings of the sleuth world, having defeated criminal after criminal in the London underworld. A new case crops up when murdered bodies show up one by one, all seemingly planned by Professor Moriarty (Ralph Fiennes), which is in turn shunned by Holmes who emphatically believes is in the Americas, and what we are looking for is a copycat.

Embarking on his investigation, Holmes and Watson struggle with their dysfunctional relationship caused by Holmes’s over developed sense of logic and underdeveloped sense of emotion, while basically bumbling their way through said investigation with the class and style of Borat. The film really tries to play light and loose with some of the old social morays of the 1800s, such as Holmes taking copious amounts of cocaine to sharpen his brain, the idea of a “woman doctor” being shocking, as well as winks and nods to Holmes trying on various quantitites of hats even though the audience KNOWS he’s going to settle on his famous Deerstalker double billed hat by the end of the film.

I can forgive many of the more inane parts of the film due to this being Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly (who seems to have VASTLY outclassed Ferrell in the acting department over the years) movie, but the execution is beyond abysmal. Jokes fall flatter than a pancake, and I was sitting there with my jaw hanging down to my knees watching this abomination unfold. Will Ferrell used to be a comedy god back in the 90s with his films and SNL skits, but lately he has been falling further and further behind with his comedic timing. Holmes & Watson is probably his worst film to date, eclipsing even the painful Get Hard as the most painful Will Ferrell movie watching experience to date. Rebecca Hall tries to at least make herself a semblance of being professional in her role as Doctor Hart, but Will and John stomp all over any seriousness or professionalism in a gleeful slip-n-slide to the bottom of misplaced humor, awful timing, and just plain bad jokes that is Holmes & Watson.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for crude sexual material, some violence, language and drug references




Video:

Shot with the traditional Arri Alexa digital cameras and transposed to an unverified digital intermediate (no idea of 4K or 2K resolution for the home video release), Holmes & Watson is able to get at least ONE thing right on this Blu-ray. That being a stellar video encode. Framed in 2.39:1, the AVC encoded Blu-ray disc is exceptionally sharp and vibrant for the 91 minutes of run time. Colors are given a burnished and mahogany look to mimic the 1800s, but facial details and nuances on clothing are incredibly precise. You can see the little fibers on the thick weave of Holme’s jacket, as well as the creases and lines of John C. Reilly’s face as he grimaces from his uncomfortable interactions with Holmes. Blacks are deep and inky, especially during the night time “investigation” scene, and overall clarity is razor sharp.






Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix given to Holmes & Watson is more than capable of handling the film’s simplistic sound design. Even though there’s some action chaos throughout the movie, the track is decidedly front heavy. Most of the weight is handled by the main 3 speakers with dialog (which is done immaculately) while the surrounds get a bit of a boost during the boxing match, or in the din of a city street. LFE is lightly maintained, but does come up in said boxing sequence a few other points, otherwise it’s fairly laid back and content to just accentuate the score and a few whams and bangs.






Extras:

• Line--O-Rama: Watch improv come alive as the actors embrace the Sherlock Holmes canon
• Deleted Scenes
- "I Seem to Have Forgotten My Hat"
- "Did You Hear the Good News"
- "Mrs. Hudson's Lovers"
- "You Caught Me in A Micro Nap"
- "Sherlock In Love"
- "Carriage Song"
- "Extend Autopsy"
- "Carriage Ride"
- "Feces Merchant"
- "He's Got One Arm for God Sakes, Catch Him"
- "That Room Is A Sanctuary"
- "Reading My Diary?"
- "We're Here to Seduce"
- "Is It an Eyepatch?"
- "The Killer's Next Move Is Elementary"
- "That's Not the First A*** You've Seen Today"
- "I'm Going to Kill the Queen"
- "Calling the Hive to Battle"
• Will and John: Together Again: Nearly Step Brothers, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly possess and an incredible comedic chemistry. Watch their antics on the set of Holmes and Watson as they reminisce about their hilarious history.
• Seriously Absurd: The Cast: Serious about the craft of acting, Rebecca Hall, Lauren Lapkus and Ralph Fiennes and Billy Zane attempt to keep straight faces working on a set with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.
• Mrs. Hudson's Men: The world's foremost artists, scientists and authors could not resist the allure of Mrs. Hudson.

Final Score:
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As you can tell, I wasn’t a wild fan of Holmes & Watson. The film was a cinematic dud from the get go, and the producers seemed to know it simply due to the fact that they didn’t invite the press to go see it’s opening like most films. Combine that with a nonexistent marketing budget and the tepid audience reactions, you can deduce without the need for Sherlock Holmes himself that this is a stinker of epic proportions. Sony’s Blu-ray is quite nice though, with stunning video and great audio (which Sony is known for), and a moderate display of extras that are actually funnier than the movie itself. Personally, unless you’re a glutton for punishment, this is an abomination that really should be skipped unless you LIKE being in pain. Run in terror from this one.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: John C. Reilly, Will Ferrell, Kelly Macdonald, Ralph Fiennes, Rebecca Hall, Lauren Lapkus, Pam Ferris, Steve Coogan
Directed by: Etan Cohen
Written by: Etan Cohen, Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes stories)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DVS, French DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DVS, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Sony
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 91 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: April 9th, 2019

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Run in Terror

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will skip this one based on your review.

 

[Asere]

You aren't kidding saying run in terror. IMDB gave it a 3.6.
Thanks for the review.

 

[Mark C Flick]

Too bad, I like John C. Reilly and was looking forward to this one. Now I think I'll pass.

 

[Jack]

Dang, this must be one of your shortest most direct movie reviews yet. Lets see, jaw on knees, vomit, abortion, unappealing etc. I can take a hint.

 

[NBPK402]

Thanks for your review... I will be skipping this movie too.

 

[Todd Anderson]