The movie opens with Holmes (James D'Arcy) chasing two men at night through the streets of London. One turns to fight Holmes but is cut down in swordplay in a flash. Now, it is one on one: Holmes vs. Moriarty (Vincent D'Onofrio). Holmes proves the better swordsman and the wounded Moriarty continues running. Holmes corners him and the fight continues until Holmes deftly disarms the villain. Unwilling to be taken alive, Moriarty draws a revolver. Holmes quickdraws his own revolver and shoots Moriarty in the chest. Moriarty falls into an open sewer. His body is not recovered.
Holmes is celebrated in the press for having killed the notorious Moriarty and is soon contracted for an interesting case. Many drug sellers have been murdered. Holmes goes to the morgue where the latest victim is being autopsied by Dr. Watson (Roger Morlidge). Holmes and Watson do not get on well initially, but Watson soon sees that Holmes does indeed have a keen mind. The pair are soon on the case of a "serial killer" (the show does use that term though it is many decades away from being coined). Holmes solves the case but something doesn't feel right. After meeting with his brother Mycroft (Richard E. Grant), Holmes realizes that Moriarty faked his death. Yes, it is Moriarty who is arranging to have a monopoly on the London drug trade.
D'Arcy is a very different Holmes. He proves to be a womanizer during the Victorian Era. He beds 4 women during the movie, 2 of them at the same time when he was on a drunken bender. He falls in love with an actress who is not named Irene Adler. No, this one is Rebecca Doyle (Gabrielle Anwar) and she had been Moriarty's honey pot in the first act. Rather than coldly rational, D'Arcy's Holmes is an emotional child who takes offense that others don't immediately recognize his genius. Most of his deductions are just parlor tricks, a way to woo the ladies. He does far too much running.
Morlidge is a combination of Watson and James Bond's Q. In addition to being Scotland Yard's medical examiner, Watson has a side hustle as an inventor. He provides Holmes with a one-shot cane that fires a .45 caliber round. Morlidge is more in keeping with Watson than D'Arcy is with Holmes.
Vincent D'Onofrio starts strong and then fades. Despite outsmarting Holmes in the first act by faking his death, he just can't stay dead. No, he wants the notoriety. His genius fades according to the needs of the plot. In the final act, he fails to account for Watson and then, when forced to flee, chose to go to Big Ben and climb to the top. Really? What a surprise when he crashes through one of the clock faces and plunges to his 'death' in the Thames.
Much like Christopher Plummer in Murder by Decree, this isn't Sherlock Holmes but some imposter using his name. Skip.
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