Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes

Guy Ritchie brings Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s master of deduction to the big screen in Sherlock Holmes. Starring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as his faithful right hand, Dr. John Watson, the two must stop a plot by an occult leader by the name of Lord Blackwood. Secrecy surrounds Blackwood and his methods as Holmes and Watson must end his killing spree and uncover the mystery on how he arose from the grave.

Robert Downey Jr. is my favorite actor right now, hands down. I have enjoyed, pretty much, his entire film library. I may be the driver of his bandwagon. With Sherlock Holmes, Downey Jr. does what he does best and sells you a great character. Set aside his ability to act and look at the mans range. The way he portrays Conan Doyle’s brilliant work is a well blended mix of the classic works with a hint of Hollywood. His accent was near flawless to my ears and you believed that he was actually figuring these crimes out. There may be some English people that will disagree, but this American bought it. Downey Jr’s. performance is highlighted more by the addition of Jude Law’s Dr. Watson. I must say that I have not been a fan of Law’s in the past, however with this role he may have captured a new fan. He definitely was the Watson to Downey Jr’s Holmes.

A big, yet pleasant surprise, was the direction of Guy Ritchie. Ritchie has a very distinct style. If your a fan of his work, you know it when you see it. That is not the case with Sherlock Holmes. If I didn’t know that Ritchie was the director of this film before I watched it, I would have never known. I think that may have been one of the reasons that I liked it so much. It’s great when a director can step out of his shell to tell a good story. If you didn’t know, Ritchie writes most of the projects that he directs, so he always knows where he is going when he shoots a film. I can imagine it being hard for him to go from that particular method, to using a screenplay written by someone else. I know that there are some critics that did not like seeing a Guy Ritchie film and it not feel like it was a Guy Ritchie film. If your not sure what I am talking about, check out the style of Ritchie’s previous films like Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. After watching Sherlock Holmes a second time I did pick out some of Ritchie’s trade marks such as high speed photography during the action sequences, but steering away from his usual style was a welcomed breath of fresh air from a director that I was already fond of.

Is this movie perfect? No. I believe there may or may not be some technology that didn’t belong in that era, and it may feel at times that it is all too glamorous. If you watched the trailer and enjoyed it I feel that it delivered on that note. It gave me exactly what I expected when I saw it. It’s a nice balance of action and mystery that doesn’t try too hard. Most hardcore fans of the novel will need to understand that this is a take on the vintage character and not the most literal interpretation. Others who are just looking for a fun popcorn film should be satisfied. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but as I previously mentioned, I am a big fan of two of the major players.

Watch Sherlock Holmes in theaters now.

Fanboyz Grade: B+