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Critics Consensus: Mr. Holmes focuses on the man behind the mysteries, and while it may lack Baker Street thrills, it more than compensates with tenderly wrought, well-acted drama.
Critic Consensus: Mr. Holmes focuses on the man behind the mysteries, and while it may lack Baker Street thrills, it more than compensates with tenderly wrought, well-acted drama.
All Critics (177) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (157) | Rotten (20) | DVD (1)
As someone who neither hungers for yet another incarnation of this character nor understands why anyone would, I watched in subdued bafflement.
The mystery subplot lacks the ingenuity of the greatest Holmes stories, but McKellen excels, switching effortlessly between the reclusive beekeeper with a faltering memory and the elegant younger detective at the height of his powers.
It's a gripping little tale, to be sure, but it's more than that. Somewhere in its tangle of timelines, false starts, and red herrings is a great truth about the unsolvable mystery of the human soul.
Even those who've read the book can be startled by what happens in Mr. Holmes, while they're being moved by McKellen in a role he's come to late, but with his customary elegance.
[An] intriguing if only semi-satisfying Sherlockian enterprise.
The best of it, as in Condon's other movies, are the details of emotions, fleeting but just as quickly caught - true concern camouflaged by flashes of impatience, unutterable despair masquerading as simple grief.
Just go see it. This film is intelligent and well-constructed, brilliantly acted and visually beautiful. Do not go into this expecting a Holmes-and-Watson solve-the-case Baker Street whodunit; this story is more about the man than the mystery.
You may never have to leave the drawing room for this mystery, but at least that room is tastefully and beautifully decorated.
A beautifully portrayed story about aging and redemption that anyone can appreciate, no matter their level of Holmes mania.
McKellen succeeds in spades, charming us in one moment with his crotchetiness and breaking our hearts with his fear and weakness in another.
Despite meticulous acting, Bill Condon's film fails to bring emotional heft to the tragedy of the aging and gradual disappearance of the human intellect.
It is almost wholly down to McKellen that this Bill Condon-directed picture is still worth catching.
Lifted by an excellent performance from Sir Ian McKellen, this is an insightful look at a de-romanticized, "real" Sherlock Holmes trying to hold on to his aging mind and volatile memories this side of life's wall while finally getting to realize the nuances of human complexity.
Super Reviewer
Sherlock Holmes battles his failing memory as he tries to solve his last case, which still haunts him. The highlight of this film is the masterful work by Ian McKellen, whose take on an aging Holmes brings to mind the thesis of A Beautiful Mind: that intelligence can outwit the infirmities of the body. Despite his failing memory, Holmes attempts to retrain his brain to renew his deductive capacities, and yet in the lines of McKellen's face, we see the emotional toll these additional intellectual acrobatics work on him. The mystery plot is pedestrian, with a payoff that does not rival some of the classic Holmes mysteries, but in fairness, the film is about age and its ravages, not necessarily a typical whodunit. Overall, I like this take on Holmes, though I pray that they don't take it too far with an uninspired sequel.
Mr. Holmes is not your usual Sherlock Holmes mystery. In this movie, the mystery exists as Sherlock is drifting into dementia, and he can't quite figure out why he retired as a detective.
If you're looking for a detective adventure in the style of Guy Ritchie, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're looking for superb acting and drama focused on issues of aging, look no further. It doesn't take a brilliant sleuth to reach the conclusion that "Mr. Holmes" is an exceptionally well made film. The acting and script are beyond compare. At times, Sir Ian McKellen seems to channel Sir John Gielgud, in all the best senses. I would be shocked if Ian McKellen does not get a nod from the Academy for his performance in what is one of the best films of 2015. Hair, makeup, costumes, locations, cinematography, sound and directing are all excellent. With a slightly mischievous score and meticulous attention to texture and color in the visuals, "Mr. Holmes" is an elegant and rich feast for the senses. I cannot recommend this film highly enough -- just don't watch it expecting action, adventure, or anything beyond mild mystery.
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