Movie Review: Mr. Holmes

Starring| Ian McKellen (Sherlock Holmes), Laura Linney (Mrs. Munro), Milo Parker (Roger)

Rating| B

Magneto you're so old!  But seriously, Ian McKellen looked like he was dying in the film, which is what his character is supposed to be doing.  But it was rather strange to see such an icon in such a decrepit form, even if he was just acting.

In my house we watch a lot of British police dramas/period pieces with older actors taking the lead.  Does that seem super specific for a genre?  Well, my dad has somehow managed to find them all and he binge watches them like no one's business.  So this movie was perfect for him.  It's a slowish moving drama about an aging detective in a small British town.  The fact that the main character is Sherlock Holmes really has little effect on the story, except to draw audiences in.  It was, though, rather good.

In Mr. Holmes the title character is having memory problems.  He's trying to recall his final case, which led to him ceasing being  detective.  He knows he did something very wrong, but he doesn't know what.  Helping him remember is the son of his housekeeper- Roger.  The kid is rather adorable. He's got, possibly, the best part of the whole movie.  As Holmes begins to find a rather caring side to himself, Roger begins to fill the whole his father left. 

The mystery in the movie was probably my biggest problem.  The "present" parts were very enjoyable, even though they were slow.  The mystery was short, and too the point.  It's a very classic sort of Sherlock Holmes story, which was nice, I must say (while I like Sherlock and Elementary, the mysterious just get more and more confusing as they try to surprise you with a twist but just end up confusing you), and fit well with the traditional mythos of the character.  However, about halfway through the movie the flashback mystery part stopped.  It wasn't really clear why it wasn't being told anymore, just that it wasn't.  When it picks up again it's not for long, as the climax is revealed (and rather expected).

This would have been much better as a TV miniseries or even TV movie, in my opinion.  If you need to slow down, or want a really good movie to see with parents/grandparents that's not necessarily kid friendly (way too slow for my younger brother, so I'm glad he didn't go) than this is well worth the watch.