We’ve never really sold on the more-actiony, adventurey “Sherlock Holmes,” idea that Guy Ritchie is peddling with Robert Downey Jr. It seems kind of cheese and reeks of ‘Indiana Jones’ like silly-ness (new Indy, not old).
So, making matters worse is the Ritchie/RDJ announcement that the duo want to turn the films into a franchise series. “What we’ve done is hopefully launched a franchise of Sherlock Holmes stories,” producer Joel Silver said. It’s to be expected and is in keeping with the corny blockbuster/ adventure vibe we keep catching from this thing, but that doesn’t mean it’s doesn’t induce eye-rolling.
Characteristically modest, Downey Jr. said he was picked for the role because “Iron Man” made him awesome.
“In case you aren’t aware I had a hell of a summer, and it’s made me much more viable to play a lead role than I might have (been) in the past,” Downey Jr. told reporters in London. Apparently shooting on ‘Holmes’ is about to start very soon.
Guy Ritchie, who seems to have evaded the U.K. sting of the medicore “RocknRolla” (though wait, it still hasn’t opened in North America yet) says the film will be his biggest budgeted film to date.
The director is also quite humble about the project. “I am a fan of many of the previous productions of Sherlock Holmes. I just think we can have a different take and I’d like to think a better take.”
Whatever. We just can’t muster any enthusiam for this project at all. Maybe after we read the script.