Sherlock Holmes: Incidente em Victoria Falls

Incident at Victoria Falls brings Christopher Lee already shows a slight sign of depletion, even so made an usual Sherlock performance, allied by the funny Dr. John Watson (Patrick Macnee), the screenplay is acceptable, although overlong between comings and goings, also has another element to enhance the plot, attach famous character on the story as the former US's President Theodore Roosevelt (Claude Akins) and also the legendary Marconi (Stephen Gurney), Sherlock has a mission to bring to England the huge diamond "Star of Africa" trying misleading the security and try out avoid the upcoming robbery, sadly it happens before Holmes put his bold plan on action, now the duo have try found out among dozen suspects the criminal mastermind, on a fabulous landscape at Victoria Falls, where one by one has been killed under suspicious circumstances, despite the picture is overlong had a rush conclusion, it's sounds odd, due had enough time to savour a best ending, average production!!!

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First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 6.5

"Incident at Victoria Falls" is a made for TV movie (or mini-series) that clocked in at over three hours. It's a Sherlock Holmes story but was not written by Arthur Conan Doyle. The story stars Christopher Lee and Patrick McNee as Holmes and Watson. Now I must point out that at the onset this film was at a disadvantage for me, as I have long thought that no one played Holmes nearly as well as Jeremy Brett in the lengthy British series' from the 1980s-90s...and this film does nothing to change this opinion.

The South African government is planning on presenting one of the world's largest diamonds, the Star of Africa*, to King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. However, worries about it becoming stolen prompt the British government to send Holmes and Watson to go to Africa to guard this rare gem.

Not too surprisingly (since the film is nearly 190 minutes), the there is a gem robbery and Holmes' trail leads through South Africa to Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe) to Victoria Falls. Along the way are a variety of red herrings and a few famous folk just happen to be there...including Marconi and President Theodore Roosevelt!

So is this any good? Well, it's okay and fortunately Lee's performance is subdued and lacks the usual cliches. But the film is doomed by just being too freaking long. An hour could easily have been shaved off and the film just drags to its ultimate finale. Oddly, the female actresses in the movie were mostly very poor. Overall, just okay...not terrible nor all that great.

*By the way, there really WAS a huge diamond called the Star of Africa...and it was presented to King Edward VII in 1907. Subsequently, it was cut down into several very large gems...some of which you can see in the collection of the British Crown Jewels.

This was taken from a mini-series, wouldn't have watched had I known that. Holmes goes to the dark continent under orders from Her Majesty's Government to guard a very valuable stone which unfortunately comes up missing. Holmes and Watson must unravel this puzzling mystery while avoiding the actions on the local constabulary headed by an unbelievably pompous, inept jackass of an inspector. Lee played the part of the aging sleuth well in a bit of a different outing for the Brit crime buster. Too many gaps in the story and an ending which even Holmes couldn't figure out. Bypass unless you can see the whole production I would say.

There's no doubt that, given the cast, this could have been a rousing good Sherlock Holmes film. Unfortunately, the producers decided to go for the mini-series. Bad move! The film we have left drags in moments, the story is overly convoluted with plot elements going nowhere, the pacing lags.

Still, Lee and MacNee make an excellent Holmes-Watson duo, and most of the acting is really good for a television project of this kind. The mystery elements, when we finally get them, are on a par with that of better Holmes material - although they often feel somewhat borrowed from Christie-Poirot films. The denouement is satisfying in a quirky way, as it involves playing fast and loose with history.

Enjoyable for a viewing - the second half is probably the superior, but that's a matter of taste.

Like many fans on Sherlock, I will watch just about any interpretation over some 75 years that the character has been in cinema. This is a plot loosely based on the original story. The material is elevated by Mr Lee's performance. His wry take on Holmes made it enjoyable for me.