Movie Review: "Sherlock Holmes"

Baker Street Irregulars.

"Sherlock Holmes" brings steampunk back to the big screen with panache in Guy Ritchie's re-imagining of the classic literary detective.

The Good:

All you really need here is the robust, engaging performance of the two leads. Jude Law, playing Dr. Watson with gusto, hasn't been this entertaining and charismatic in years (if ever, actually), and the scintillating Robert Downey, Jr. portrays Holmes as a manic, obsessive, damaged yet magnetic and maddening genius -- the perfect foil to the exasperated, long-suffering, and -- yes -- dashing Watson.

If you're looking for the almost elderly, staid Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett version of Holmes, you'd best keep going, because Downey's Holmes is a young, energetic, socially maladjusted, almost obnoxiously intelligent yet occasionally vulnerable figure. Looking at him, you could start listing potential issues -- ADHD, OCD ... overlaid with a buzzing restlessness of mind that sometimes manifests itself physically. Somebody give the man some Ritalin! Now I've made merciless fun of Guy Ritchie before, but I have to give him credit for a fresh, creative take on Holmes during brawls, letting the audience have a glimpse into how the sleuth's mind works out a strategy before enacting it. The result is more or less brilliant. (Did I actually say that something done by Ritchie is "brilliant"? It's a sign of the apocalypse.)

Kelly Reilly (perhaps familiar to you as Caroline Bingley from "Pride and Prejudice") turns in a fine, sassy performance as Mary Morstan, Watson's fiancee who threatens the "bromance."

The overall look and feel of the flick is very good, and it manages to evoke a sense of place, of a steampunkish London that really only exists in the imagination. Even so, it's a place jam-packed with energy, and that gives a certain colorful immediacy to the film. (Nice touch in having the now-iconic Tower Bridge be a vast construction site.) In terms of the entire steampunk aesthetic in a major motion picture, this movie is much better (i.e., more fun) than its previous exponent, 2003's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (and Peta Wilson). Not even Sean Connery could save that turkey.

Oh, and who doesn't love Gladstone the much-put-upon bulldog?


The Bad:

The plot -- let's be honest -- is basically ludicrous with its mishmash of wannabe occult frisson and standard boilerplate dreams of egomaniacal power. The villain (Lord Blackwood, played by Mark Strong) is a cardboard figure of bland evil, right down to the swooping black cape. In fact, both plot and villain reminded me a lot of 1985's "Young Sherlock Holmes." Rachel McAdams tries hard as Irene Adler, the only woman who ever bested Holmes, but she seems out of place in Victorian England, even a steampunk version, and her chemistry with Downey lacks sparkle.

The Verdict:

In the final analysis, the flaws of the film are more than balanced by the performance of its two lead actors. Jude Law shines on screen as Watson, and Robert Downey Jr., clearly more brilliant than the script and able to elevate it by his sheer charisma, continues his ascendancy as one of Hollywood's brightest stars. I for one cannot WAIT for "Iron Man 2."

A la some Trekkies with the JJ Abrams reimagining of "Star Trek," some Holmes purists, literary pedants, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fanboys might be offended by the liberties that Ritchie and Downey have taken with their new, action-comedy interpretation of the brainy sleuth, but the result is a rollicking good ride of holiday entertainment that breathes new life into the legendary resident of 221B Baker Street. Should you go see it? The answer is elementary. Off to the theater with you; the game is afoot!


Mad Minerva gives this film a good solid B+. The Cinema-Mad Sibling gives his favorable review-haiku also.

"Rotten Tomatoes" gives "Sherlock Holmes" a fresh rating of 70%.

The official website is here.

"Sherlock Holmes" runs for 128 minutes and is rated PG-13 for violence, action scenes, frightening images, and one scene with suggestive material (and a strategically placed pillow).