Not your father's Holmes & Watson

Rating: 7/10 (23 September 2010)

Guy Ritchie's re-imagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective Sherlock Holmes takes the original character and updates him for modern audiences. The setting is the same (Victorian England) but Holmes is now as adept with his fists as he is with his powers of deduction.
In this film, Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his stalwart companion, Dr. Watson (Jude Law), become embroiled in a mystery which seems to suggest authentic diabolism. A recently executed Lord has risen from the grave (or so it would seem) and Scotland Yard is baffled. We follow Holmes & Watson as they work their way through London in search of clues that will reveal the solution to this mystery.
As mentioned, Robert Downey Jr. & Jude Law play the title character and the good doctor, respectively. They play the characters well while also introducing a physicality that isn't present in other interpretations of the roles. Rachel McAdams plays the requisite romantic interest and I'm pretty apathetic to her presence here. Mark Strong makes a fine villain, though, and the rest of the cast seems pretty well chosen.
Guy Ritchie might not have been the best choice to direct this film but I guess that the producers were looking for something different. He basically directs it like he would any of his modern crime flicks, though he's got a bigger budget to work with this time around. The results are certainly passable for a blockbuster with the focus on action but I still would have preferred another approach. As for the soundtrack, I don't think that it bears comparison with Ritchie's other films, which typically excel in that department. God only knows why "The Rocky Road to Dublin" pops up a few times.
For what it is, "Sherlock Holmes" is a enjoyable ride even if it isn't necessarily an award-worthy film. That being said, I was intrigued enough that I would watch the inevitable sequel when it arrives, so I guess that the film served its purpose.