The Best...um..."James Bond" Film I've Seen in a Long Time

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2009)

I enjoyed "Sherlock Holmes," as much for its preposterous-ness as its visual style. I'm pleased that Guy Ritchie was able to make a halfway-decent movie.
As a fan of the Granada TV series, I know that no one will ever equal Jeremy Brett's performance as the greatest detective. But I wasn't expecting Robert Downey, Jr. to equal it, any more than I was expecting this movie to be the best "Sherlock" movie ever.
Downey is "Sherlock Holmes" in name only. He bears a few resemblances to Conan Doyle's eccentric detective (with emphasis on the "eccentric"). Like a hyperactive child, he prances around the streets of London, drunk on his own genius.
In truth, Downey's Holmes is more like a self-employed Victorian James Bond (the Roger Moore version). Like Bond, Downey's Holmes bungles his way through his adventures, fights the bad guys with martial arts, uncovers the secret plots, jumps out of windows, and escapes death traps usually by tripping over them and setting them off. His genius intellect and acute powers of observation sometimes get in the way of his solving the case.
And like Bond, he usually picks the "femme fatale" to romance (in this case, the jewel thief Irene Adler, played by Rachel Mc Adams). As with Bond, the "femme fatale" romance often gets Downey's Holmes into compromising positions and embarrassing situations. And of course, as with Bond, the "femme fatale" comes over to Holmes's side before the end of the movie.
This time around, however, it's the bad guys who have the Q devices. Holmes's nemesis is Lord Blackwell (Mark Strong), head of a SPECTRE-like society that plans to conquer the world using black magic (or something like it). And they have fiendish doomsday devices at their disposal to do so, devices that Holmes must dismantle and occasionally explain to the audience.
Another nemesis (I won't reveal who) seems to be lurking in the shadows, observing Holmes from a distance. We see only his hat and his long black coat, with his gloved hands resting on the head of a cane...We never see his face. All that's missing is a white Persian cat sitting on his lap.
(On a personal note, I should have known who this character would turn out to be. But based on the fact that you couldn't see his face, I almost thought it was Jack Griffin, the Invisible Man.) There are a few Bond-ian scenes, such as the confrontation of the villain in his secret hideout, where the villain reveals his dastardly plan to Holmes, rather than shooting him. And there is a scene late in the movie where Holmes and Watson must penetrate an impenetrable fortress to foil the villain's scheme.
And of course, there are the usual shaky-cam shots, hyper-cut editing, and fantastic CGI backgrounds and visual effects that are what passes for style in a modern action movie. How much do you want to bet that the climactic fight between Holmes and Blackwell will take place on top of a well-known London monument high in the air? James Bond would have approved.
Mention should be given to Jude Law as Dr. Watson, the man who most often gets Holmes out of trouble, and who is used to his eccentricities. They gave Watson a fiancé, of course, so that the Holmes/Watson relationship would not seem too "gay." But they had the sense to make Watson an intelligent man who can follow Holmes's observations and reasonings, and come to the same conclusions -- just not as fast as Holmes. The curse of the slow-witted Nigel Bruce Watson has been buried forever.
So that's it. Holmes as Bond. Ridiculous, but enjoyable. I guess we shouldn't be surprised. I'm looking forward to the next film in the franchise. Again, I'm glad Guy Ritchie had at least one good film in him. I hope he can make another.