Yet another (better!) Sherlock Holmes trailer...

Maybe I'm in a more forgiving mood, but this third go-around looks quite a bit more fun than the previous two. This new trailer concentrates on the relationship between Holmes and Watson, with Downey's smug superiority (and the 'it's Holmes in the EXTREME' bits) kept to a bare minimum. If anything, Holmes seems to be in a constant state of Indiana Jones/Jackie Chan-style befuddlement, with Watson usually having the upper hand.

I do wish that Rachel McAdams was being advertised as more than an object of lust, but I can only guess that the super-picky McAdams wouldn't have signed onto something that required only her butt and breasts. What most excites me is the (apparent) climax, previewed at 1:42, which promises an old-fashioned sword duel between Holmes and the evil Lord Blackwood atop a high unfinished bridge. I may be picky and often overly-critical, but I've always been quite forgiving of any adventure movie that has the decency to end with a perilous sword fight atop a mountainside, bottomless pit, rooftop, or anyplace very very high.

For the first time, I'm actually hopeful that I might enjoy this one in a 'Saturday matinee at the movies' kind of way. After all, you're reading someone who still considers Shanghai Knights as one of the best adventure movies of the last decade.

Scott Mendelson