The comedy take on Arthur Conan Doyle's tale only gets one positive reviews out of 24 reviews from critics on the review-aggregation site.
- Dec 27, 2018
AceShowbiz - Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly's hope to bring cheer to moviegoers this holiday season may not come true. Their new comedy movie "Holmes & Watson" doesn't receive much love from viewers, let alone from movie critics.
Etan Cohen's take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes tale currently sits at low 4 percent score of review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It previously hit a rare 0 percent score before David Edelstein of New York Magazine/Vulture gave the one and only positive review out of 24 reviews on the website so far.
The "Critics Consensus" reads, "The lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson than does Holmes and Watson." Meanwhile, audience gave it an average grade of "D+" on CinemaScore.
The movie gave a bad signal as it wasn't screened in advance for critics. The Hollywood Reporter's critic Frank Scheck wrote in his review, "Numerous talented British thespians are wasted in supporting roles in this Christmas turkey that, not surprisingly, wasn't screened in advance for critics. Although making them troop out to theaters Christmas morning is something of which even Ebenezer Scrooge wouldn't have approved."
IGN's William Bibbiani agreed, writing, "The lazy gags, wasted supporting cast and unfocused writing make the film an unfunny chore, which evokes but doesn't come close to their earlier comedic outings."
Vulture's Edelstein, however, thinks the movie wasn't that awful given that it made the audience leave the theater "in a good mood." He additionally wrote in his review, "No brain cells are harmed by Holmes & Watson, just given a few hours to rest and regenerate."
The movie opened on December 25 and earned $6.4 million on its first day, facing tough competition from "Aquaman", "Bumblebee" and "Mary Poppins Returns". It is projected to bring in $18–20 million over its first six days.
While the 4 percent score is a career low for Ferrell and Reilly, two other films released this year received a 0 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. They are Amber Heard-starring mystery adaptation "London Fields" and the John Gotti biopic, "Gotti", starring John Travolta.
