Mr Holmes [Blu-ray] [2015]

Enjoyable to watch, with some fine acting and an interesting storyline. It was slightly depressing to see the great detective in his twilight years, but McKellen portrayed Holmes with humour and dignity - I especially enjoyed the beekeeping scenes, and the flashbacks to his last case. Beautiful views of the Sussex landscape, too. The little boy, Milo Parker, was excellent, as was Laura Linney as his mother, the widowed housekeeper (her accent was convincing too - wouldn't have guessed she was American). The trip to Japan was an odd little twist, but it was woven into the plot quite well.It's probably not a film for anyone who's expecting a fast-paced Holmes detective mystery (there's no Dr Watson, so that will disappoint some), but it is a charming film and well-worth watching.

Saturday night and I could not decide what to watch. We've all been there. So, eventually after much humming and hawing I finally picked Mr Holmes, whilst muttering 'I'll give it the first twenty minutes...'! I watched the whole film, immediately transported to 1947 and immediately enchanted with the film, the plot, McKellen's acting as well as the surprise turn from Laura Linney as his housekeeper. This film really leapt off the screen for me and I loved it. Holmes, at 93, through the onset of dementia, tries to piece together his last case, the one he failed, the one that made him retire from his world and to the English countryside. This film was a complete surprise and one of the best films I've seen in the past few years. It is a tale about failure, loss, being alone and loneliness and a man living up to/in competition with the fictionalised persona in Dr Watson's bestselling books of the real man's exploits. A big recommendation from me.

Mr Holmes is set in the 1940s, Holmes is in his 90s and his health and memory is failing him. Watson is gone, so is Baker Street, he is very much a man out of his time in a world which has now entered the atomic age. He lives in rural surrey and is long into retirement, beekeeping is his passion. A housekeeper and window live with him along with her young son, the dynamic between the three creates most of the conflict within the film, the boy of course is drawn in awe to the legendary detective while the mother is concerned about this. Holmes himself is all too aware of the inflated view the public has of him and decides he will finally try to write up his own novel in order to get it right this time, but is his memory up to it?I love this film but leave all your expectations at the front door. This isn't your typical Holmes adventure, it's more of a sad meditation on life, loss, guilt, relationships and aging. The makeup work is superb making Ian McKellen a 90 something. In the sequences of Holmes in his 60s, back in the Edwardian period McKellen plays him with much more of the flair you find in the novels. The colour palette is also a bit richer in the Edwardian period.

Possible spoilers.The film is an adaptation of a Mitch Cullin book, depicting Holmes in his 90s. There are some differences in the story, particularly in the fate of the young boy that Holmes is teaching about bees and their habits. I have difficulties, as I did with the novel, in accepting that a 90+ year-old would be capable of a long & arduous journey to and around Japan, just after WWII. However, Ian McKellen is excellent in the role and the overall tone of the piece is 'feel-good', except for the way in which one of Holmes' old cases is resolved.One to pass the time in a pleasant way. I would recommend that you read  A Slight Trick of the Mind , but be prepared for a much less happy ending.

A terrible waste of talent. Great acting spoiled by a deeply flawed script. The contrivance of telling the story in retrospect, with Holmes as a feeble old man, adds nothing and detracts a great deal. The real Sherlock Holmes would never have allowed himself to deteriorate to this extent - he would have taken an overdose of opium first! The modern setting is simply inconguous and, of course, there is the BBC hallmark "Routemaster moment" right at the beginning, when what is clearly an L.M.S. train arrives at a Southern Railway station!

This is not a classic Holmes-type mystery.It is not really a mystery at all.It is a film about ageing, loss, and letting go. About sadness, too, and regret. But it is also a film about hope and purpose. And it never gets too heavy.So why watch it, if you've come here for a rollicking vintage adventure ....?Because it is British cinema at its best. It is gentle and understated, yet compelling. It is beautifully shot. The soundtrack is moving; the colours soothing ...It has a certain quiet ... poetry.Stay with it. It deserves your appreciation.

I met Ian McKellan in my hometown Copemhagen i the 1970ties, when he made a guest-performance at our National Museum together with an actress. An evening dedicated to Shakespeare. In my memory a most extraordinary evening. A common friend in London said to me, "Go and see him and say hello from me". I did, and met a very friendly person. Since then I have followed McKellans life and carreer on film and in TV.McKellan as the old Holmes is a wonderfull experience. One of the worlds best actors. You can see it again and again and still experience new things. The production as a whole, the actors, photography, all deserves the greatest praise. I have seen it in Blu-Ray.Hans SkaarupCopenhagen

Mr Holmes is a perfect representation of the later years of Sherlock Holmes, it is both heart breaking and full of joy, Ian McKellen has shown just how good an actor he is in this film, he can play the wily detective as his career is coming to an end but he also plays the retired bee keeper Sherlock. The Story of this film is a heart breaking tale that makes your heart really wrench and bring tears of sadness to your eyes but then as it comes to a close tears of joy.