Sherlock Holmes (Blu-ray Disc)

Sherlock Holmes is a fun film with a terrible ending, filled with CGI and needless tension considering you know exactly how it is all going to end. The result of such a description makes for a film offering mild theatrical diversions, but is more suited for home viewing seeing how expectations on films are lowered at home as we aren't having to deal with the rudeness of others and escalating ticket prices. The question remains, however, is Sherlock worthy of home purchase or home rental? A question I can say I have yet to crack.

One thing I am certain of is Warner Home Video's "Maximum Movie Mode" on their Blu-ray releases is one of the best uses of the new format out there and I'm not sure there is a better one. My only wish is that it would accompany films I love as opposed to those I like (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Sherlock Holmes) and those I dislike (Watchmen and Terminator Salvation). I mean, what good is an excellent special feature if you hardly care what they are talking about?

With Sherlock Holmes, director Guy Ritchie guides the "Maximum Movie Mode" and offers plenty of insight into the production and his motivations behind bringing the character to the big screen in a way never done before. As someone that hasn't read Arthur Conan Doyle's stories or seen any of the previous incarnations of Holmes I'll have to take his word for it. As Ritchie navigates the audience through the film in something of an "alternate" commentary, plenty of cast and crew interviews also pop up, storyboards rotate in the lower right hand corner in time with the scene you are watching and there are also several opportunities to stop the film altogether and watch a "focal point" or browse through a gallery.

The focal points are presented within the film or separately and there are eight in total. Should you wish to simply allow the film to run with the "Maximum Movie Mode" operating and then check out the focal points afterward I can't blame you, it's how I did it, no need to interrupt the action in my opinion. There are eight focal points in total and they are more your typical making-of featurettes looking at the set dressing, effects, costuming, accents and such. They actually work hand-in-hand with the disc's other feature, "Sherlock Holmes: Reinvented," a 14 minute featurette looking at Ritchie's "reinvention" of Holmes, as if the title of the piece wasn't rather self-explanatory.

As for the audio and video presentation, they are excellent, but sometimes almost to a fault. The audio, actually, I should say is excellent and will make great use of your surround sound as well as presenting Hans Zimmer's lively score. The video, while remarkably sharp, also brings out the film's flaws, primarily the CG-heavy finale as what is effects and what's not is rather obvious to a point it works even less than it did in theaters. No worries, at home it's to be expected and can be glossed over in your mind as we wait for the forthcoming Sherlock Holmes 2, which will hopefully be more of a mystery than this one was, all while maintaining the rock 'em, sock 'em Ritchie style I personally enjoy.

This release includes the Blu-ray version of the film, as well as a second disc with both a DVD and Digital Copy, which should make it easier for those yet to adopt Blu-ray to buy a Blu-ray disc in preparation of one day owning a BD equipped player. However, whether or not you should buy it is still up for debate. Personally I don't think you could go wrong picking this one up, it's a fun blockbuster that could best be described as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (not Black Pearl) set in Victorian England rather than at sea. It's a blockbuster film with one of today's most beloved stars and has plenty of action to go around while never it doesn't have a very engaging story, as a piece of mindless entertainment it satisfies. My theatrical review pretty much says the same, and you can read that right here.