Holmes & Watson (2018)
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The legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr. Watson must team up to stop a threat against Queen Victoria.
The story
Sherlock Holmes is viewed as a legendary detective. Both he and his partner, Dr. John Watson, are to view the trial of Professor James Moriarty, but are attacked by a swarm of bees, temporarily waylaid by a package sent by Moriarty and brought to them by their housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson. At the trial, Holmes reveals the man accused of Moriarty's crimes is an imposter named Jacob Musgrave, who is incapable of committing the murders due to tremors in his hand caused by excessive masturbation. Despite attempts by Inspector Lestrade to convince Holmes that his deduction is incorrect, Holmes is convinced that Moriarty is currently traveling to the United States while letting Musgrave take the fall for his crimes.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are interrupted by a swarm of bees while attending the trial of Professor James Moriarty. Holmes deduces that the accused, Jacob Musgrave, is an imposter and that Moriarty is fleeing to the United States. The duo travels to Buckingham Palace for a surprise birthday party for Holmes, where they find a corpse in a cake and a message from Moriarty threatening Queen Victoria's life. They meet Dr. Grace Hart and the feral Millie, with Watson and Holmes becoming enamored with them, respectively. After discovering Gustav Klinger is in league with Moriarty and Klinger is murdered, Holmes seeks help from his brother Mycroft. Mycroft suggests the murderer is close to Holmes, leading Holmes to mistakenly arrest Watson. After realizing his mistake, Holmes tracks Watson and Mrs. Hudson (revealed as Moriarty's daughter) to the Titanic. They discover a bomb, which Watson throws out of a window into Mrs. Hudson's boat, killing her and her accomplices. The Queen congratulates them, and the pair reconnects with Grace and Millie before heading to the Titanic. Finally, Holmes and Watson confront Moriarty in a bar in the United States.
- First release year
- 2018
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- United States; Canada
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Etan Cohen
- Writers
- Etan Cohen · writer; Etan Cohen · director
- Cast and characters
- Will Ferrell · Sherlock Holmes; John C. Reilly · Dr. John Watson; Rebecca Hall · Dr. Grace Hart; Rob Brydon · Inspector Lestrade; Kelly Macdonald · Rose Hudson; Steve Coogan · Gustav Klinger; Ralph Fiennes · Professor Moriarty / Jacob Musgrave; Hugh Laurie · Mycroft Holmes
- Genres
- mystery; comedy
- Themes
- Buddy Comedy; Parody; Loyalty
- Tone and mood
- Comedy; Satirical; Silly
- Premise and plot tags
- Buddy Comedy; Mystery; Adventure; Parody
- Source material / true-story basis
- Sherlock Holmes
- Franchise connections
- Sherlock Holmes
- Reception
- The film received largely negative reviews from both critics and audiences alike for its script, humor, and unfaithfulness to the source material, and is widely considered as one of the worst movies of all time. The press reported numerous instances of people walking out early during screenings.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 24 · scale: 100 · review count: 23; CinemaScore · score: D+ · scale: A+ to F; PostTrak · score: 1 · scale: 5; Rolling Stone · score: 0.5 · scale: 5
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Award · Worst Picture · Won
- Production trivia
- The film was originally scheduled for release on August 3, 2018, but was pushed multiple times.; Sony unsuccessfully attempted to sell the distribution rights to Netflix due to low test scores.; The film is the third collaboration between Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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