Le signe des 4

Sherlock Holmes is idling in his London flat once again in this masterful new adventure based on the classic part of the Canon "The Sign of Four." This time with Matt Frewer as the languid and yet surprisingly agile Sherlock Holmes, the film is well-placed, excellently-filmed, and any true Sherlockian will enjoy it. A few liberties have been taken from the original script, but are lost in the excellent dialogue and London fog as they follow the notorious murderer, Jonathan Small, and his strange and unearthly savage to uncover a twisting tale of deception, secrets, lies, betrayal, and murder.

Overall, the film's a lot of fun. It gives a new angle to Sherlock Holmes - a comical one, while never overdoing Holmes' brilliance. A friend had never been "interested" in Holmes before now - she liked Frewer's serious and yet proud adaptation. The costuming is standard fare - that of the older version, with Ian Richardson as Holmes, was better done as far as the heroine's wardrobe - and it has enough excitement to keep you entertained, while adding a touch of romance and strain between Watson and Holmes; the result being Holmes' famed speech on the "dangers of women."

An excellent second installment in the series of four by Hallmark Entertainment. I hope the rest of the miniseries is as eventful and imaginative as this one.

At first Matt Frewer's Holmes portrayal is irritatingly precise and priggish. But then we see a warmth not very often seen in the detective especially towards his friend Watson at the end of this production. I enjoy watching Frewer's wide letterbox mouth that he works a little bit like old British comedy star Will Hay. He also has a habit of lifting his eyebrows like Hay. Frewer's Hound of the Baskervilles had been too comic so it was good to see a more sober production in this Sign of Four follow-up. There are a couple of prize harridan types that briefly entertain us in this one. Mrs Benstone scrutinizes Holmes through her pince-nez glasses as though he is an imposter. Mrs Smith comes later in the lengthy anachronistic Dr Crippen joke. There are some good horse and carriage in foggy gas-lit sequences that are classic Holmes mystery scenarios. The usual riverboat chase scene of the Sign of Four story is forsaken for a stand-off on fogbound dockyard jetties. Even though this is not the best version of Sign of Four it entertained me enough to want to see it again sometime.

I like the Sherlock Holmes movies and about 18 people have played Sherlock Holmes.

Matt Frewer was just awful in this movie. He kept making faces smiling, looking like he was trying to be humorous but he looked like a jerk.

I have to say the one of the best actors played Dr Watson in this movie. Kenneth Welch played Watson and he was serious and believable. He reminded me of David Suchet who plays Poirot.

There were twin brothers in this movie. One is dead killed by a poison dart and the the one wearing a cap, dressed like a man from India and really poor make up and acting.

Some of Matt Frewer's movies were produced by Muse Entertainment Production. The opening of this movie said a Hallmark Presentation. I always respected Hallmark but in this case they were wrong, the movie stinks.

I am getting ready to watch The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire 2002. This movie also has the same producer Muse and is also presented by Hallmark. I hope this movie is better.

The four Sherlock Holmes movies by Hallmark are just good fun versions for kids. Don't even try to take 'em seriously folks. Don't expect them to be artistic masterpieces based on literary classics. These TV movies were made for a family audience and there's plenty of comedy for kids in these things. Frewer's Holmes must be seen to be believed! He's a hoot! He's the most eccentric Holmes EVER! Kids will love this guy! Kenneth Welsh is much more traditional in his role and he makes a very fine Watson. These Frewer Holmes flicks are sure to entertain the kids and will hopefully encourage them to read more about The Master Detective. They certainly wont get bored watching any of these with the ultra-intense and comedic Frewer on the screen.

The Sign of the Four was wonderfully filmed and excellently acted. Matthew Frewer has a new, fresh take on Holmes that is different from Jermey Bret's serious almost depressed character of Holmes. Frewer's Holmes knows he's smart and has a bit of fun with it. He makes jokes about other characters without them even knowing about it and he has a fun sense of "Yes I know I'm brilliant .... I'm Sherlock Holmes" to his acting.

The character of Holmes is kept true to the original stories and the film has you intrigued with this Holmes character until the credits role. wonderful I would recommend the series to any one who enjoys Sherlock Holmes. Superb.