by Troy Gustafson Rating: 9 reels
For me if there is one literary character that I would have said skip the movie version of, it would have been Sherlock Holmes. Wait a minute, Robert Downey Junior as Holmes? okay I'll watch it for kicks. I have liked RDJ for a long time, but since "Iron Man" he has really become a favorite actor of mine. After seeing the latest incarnation of Sherlock, I can say I am glad I watched it. A friend of mine asked me if Sherlock Holmes was a good movie or a great movie the other day. I thought for a minute, and after studying the evidence, I have to say it was a great movie.
So how does a movie about a stuffy English detective become one of the coolest movies out there. Take a good mystery involving the supernatural, because most people don't understand it completely, a creepy bad guy, and the coolest hero actor you can find and be careful not to let any of the clues out of the bag too early.
The creepy Lord Blackwood (well played by Mark Strong) is in English government as well as a secret society that dabbles in the supernatural arts. Blackwood's specialty though is the dark arts which involves sacrifice. For those of you that are hesitant because of the black magic element in the movie, trust me it is necessary to make this movie work as well as it does. As the movie begins, Holmes (Downey) and Watson (Jude Law) are on the heels of Blackwood for the murder/sacrifice of several girls and must interrupt his latest ritual before another person dies.
Once the evil one is imprisoned, strange things happen around Blackwood's cell leading up to the day of his public execution. Sherlock Holmes is called to the prison by Blackwood to speak with him on his last day. Blackwood lays out the events that will unfold after his execution. Holmes pays the dark lord very little mind until Blackwood is executed and then seemingly rises from the dead thanks to his black magic powers. Sherlock Holmes must now solve the mystery of the risen lord.
Holmes' partner Dr. Watson is in the process of moving out of the home he shares with Sherlock to be married. Holmes is not happy about Watson leaving and so he avoids meeting Watson's fiance and of course tries to keep Watson involved in all of his cases. Sherlock Holmes also seems uncomfortable in his own skin because he is so observant. The movie plays up his skills of observation to remind the audience that this guy can figure anything out just by looking at it, but he can't turn this ability off either and it seems to drive him nuts in crowds. It seems Holmes is a bit tormented, in one scene he is in some sort of organized underground fight just for practice or to take his mind off of life. In this scene he fights a large man which highlights his ability to fight very well against someone much larger than himself. Previous to this movie I never thought of Sherlock Holmes as a kick butt fighter, but his physical skills in this movie were second only to his observational skills.
Thrown into the mix is Sherlock's nemesis and previous love interest, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams). Irene has been hired by an unknown employer to convince Holmes to find a "midget ginger" who has disappeared. In time the ginger case crosses paths with the Lord Blackwood case bringing Irene into the story more fully. Irene is obviously not trustworthy but has a romantic hold on Holmes for one reason or another.
In the course of this film I found myself trying to solve the crime in my head but always ended up chasing rabbits. The movie was long but I never found myself looking at my watch. I was at all times entertained. The case was just far fetched enough to eliminate predictability but brought together so well that by the end I believed everything that happened was possible. I believed in Sherlock Holmes as a brilliant man but one with weaknesses and not a typical indestructible Hollywood super sleuth. Robert Downey Junior puts his fingerprints all over this character which makes Holmes a fun person to watch even if he weren't a genius detective. The rest of the cast is well put together and both Rachel McAdams and Jude Law play well with Robert Downey Jr. I have to give credit to Guy Ritchie who directed this movie. At first I predicted a bomb simply because he was at the wheel, but he actually did an excellent job of creating the newly imagined world of the great detective.
In my assessment of Sherlock Holmes I think this really is a great movie. The story was well written and suspenseful, the effects were seamless, the acting was very good. In fact I can't find any reason to really knock it. I can say that most movies that I consider great have me wanting to watch them over and over again, and Sherlock Holmes does not beg me to watch multiple times. I guess once the mystery is solved it's solved so I am going to give Sherlock Holmes a 9.
Troy
