Elementary with Downey

Rating: 7/10 (26 April 2010)

In Sherlock Holmes as of 2009, under direction by Guy Ritchie, Sherlock is introduced using all his deductive skills to properly figure out how to kick a guy's ass in a matter of seconds and then proceeding to do it. For the rest of the film, Holmes is running about slightly neurotic with no sense of personal hygiene or taste. Yeah, exactly, he's played by Robert Downey Jr, you got it. Apparently there's two ways you can look at this and as far as I understand they are both valid - Robert Downey Jr is doing Sherlock Holmes more in the line of what the original Conan Doyle creation was. At the same time, Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes are two steps away from joining the X-Men or the Fantastic Four. Makes sense too, I guess. It's the "contemporary" approach.
All in all though, this cartoon version of Doyle's Sherlock is a lot of fun. Amusement is the key word, and the big reason is Robert Downey Jr who lifts the entire film up and carries it in his arms from the very beginning to the very end. No, make that to the very "to be continued" (it's "contemporary"). Not even Jude Law playing doctor Watson can do as much for the film as he does. The story - concerning the mysterious case of the gallow-dangling Lord Blackwood who apparently is coming back from the dead for a dastardly plot against the kingdom - only works because Downey Jr says it's worth following. The clues and the plot turns are only interesting because they happen to him. His fighting at the 19th century Fight Club and the 60's Batman style fight sequences only works because he's doing it and we only buy his deductive brilliance because he seems to believe in it himself. Even his love interest, the quite weak Rachel McAdams, works solely for the reason that he seems to be madly and problematically in love with her. In fact, toward the end when we are tempted with a sequel featuring Holmes' arch nemesis himself, I wanted to see the sequel just because Robert Downey Jr would do this one more time!
The only qualitative thing that Robert Downey Jr isn't responsible of, the film leaves to Jude Law and the sub-plot concerning his Watson getting married to some woman and Holmes being jealous over it. Holmes and Watson, arguably the biggest closet couple in the history of literature, are basically a real dynamic duo here, and it's interesting how the movie doesn't make any effort in denying their relationship. Nothing specific occurs and at the same time, there are no clever jokes or hints to the audience. It's just there, which is both a surprise and a bit of a progressive move. By simply assuming their relation to begin with, nothing more needs to be said and the MPAA can rate it PG-13 for some violence and "suggestive material".
It's easy to understand how old Holmes afficinados might treat this Sherlock Holmes with absinthe and a sad fiddle. But to be fair, it could have been so much worse and it's probably the most refreshing film Guy Ritchie has made in years. It's Sherlock Holmes with a bag of popcorn. All elementary, in it's own way.