DVD Review: Sir Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (2010)

"The world's greatest detective has finally met his match" by being cast in the moronic, but fun, straight-to-DVD Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

When I saw the trailer for "The Asylum" knock-off, or "mockbuster," of the block-buster movie Sherlock Holmes I couldn't wait for another horrible film. Instead, I actually found myself enjoying it.

An original story, loosely based on the novels of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the unusually jovial Sherlock Holmes (Ben Syder) and the incompetent Dr. James Watson (Gareth David-Lloyd, Torchwood) are on the trail of criminal genius Rainer "Spring Heeled Jack" Thorpe (Dominic Keating, Star Trek: Enterprise), who seeks to kill Queen Victoria with his mechanical creations.

None of the actors are household names and they don't even bother to list the main actor, newcomer Ben Syder, in their advertising. Syder can't compare to Robert Downey Jr's infectious portrayal of The Master, but he plays the character with verve and humor. His chemistry with Watson is hilarious and enjoyable while Holmes' legendary deductive reasoning skills are well-done.

The flick boasts some truly horrible lines, but has surprising plot twists and gorgeous cinematography as they filmed on location in Wales. Dominic Keating's role as the villain, Steel Heeled Jack, consisted mainly of him talking...like...this! All the while twirling his Snidley Whiplash mustachio. While portrayed as a brilliant mind, his ultimate plan of framing his crimes on someone who has no discernible skills at mechanics seemed poorly planned.

Steampunk is at its best when it's goofiest and this film revels in it. If you can stand the steam-powered armor, miniature dinosaurs and flying dragons you're in for an action-packed ride. While I can't recommend buying it, I will say that it's worth renting. "The Asylum" may be turning the corner and actually producing reasonably good movies. I hope not, because it's always good to watch a bad movie.

By contrast, check out our review of the laughable Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus (2009).

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So, would you see this Sherlock Holmes film? Want to share your thoughts on it? Let us know in the comments!

UPDATE: I removed the word miniature, since they're only miniature when comparing a six foot Tyrannosaurus Rex with it's forty-two foot tall counterpart.