Guy Ritchie's Interpretation of a Classic Hero

Rating: 8/10 (10 May 2010)

Guy Ritchie has reinvented the famed literary sleuth for a new generation, abandoning some of the played-out clichés (such as the oft-quoted "Elementary, my dear Watson") and amping up the energy with fast pacing and a handful of frenetic action sequences. I've seen a good amount of negativity on the web about this film (who knew there were so many Holmes fanboys out there...) but I really enjoyed it. I've been a fan of Ritchie since LOCK, STOCK, & TWO SMOKING BARRELS and while he's had a few weak projects, I thought this was one of his better. The story finds Watson preparing to move on from his sleuthing days and settle down for marriage, abandoning his partnership with the eccentric Holmes. Their final case together, in which the pair brought the mysterious Lord Blackwood to justice for practicing black magic and committing multiple murders, refuses to remain shut. After his hanging, Lord Blackwood was seen rising from the grave to torment London once again and it falls on Holmes and Watson to get to the bottom of Blackwood's scheme.
Ritchie admits to having been a fan of Holmes since his childhood so I'm sure the man knows more on the subject than myself. I've only ever read one or two of Doyle's stories so I don't have the extensive knowledge on the character. All I know is that I enjoyed the movie, regardless of how well it followed the character's source material. People had shown distaste at the fact that Holmes is portrayed as an action hero in some scenes, rather than the pipe-smoking intellectual most people envision him as, but the original novels did in fact note Holmes hand-to-hand skills. Ritchie has just put them to good use. Keep in mind, despite what the trailers insinuate, this movie isn't what I'd call action-heavy. It has a few key action scenes but it does focus on Holmes and Watson solving the mystery behind Blackwood's supposed magic. This leads to my favorite aspect of the film: Ritchie's depiction of Holmes deductive process. He uses quick jump cuts to lead the audience down Holmes' thought processes and allows us to follow him (including how he uses these skills to determine the best process of incapacitating opponents).
For the most part, the casting in this film was phenomenal. Robert Downey Jr is one of my favorite actors in recent years since his career revival and the man fails to disappoint me. I loved him in his role as the famed sleuth, giving him an amusing eccentric twist. He had great on-screen chemistry with Jude Law (as Watson) and the two gave the partners' relationship a modern bro-mantic vibe, as they squabbled like a couple of teenagers at times. Mark Strong gave an adequate performance as the villain Blackwood, though he really didn't have to do much outside brooding and speaking ominously. Still, despite his limited performance, he was still better than Rachel McAdams. McAdams plays Holmes old flame (and the only person to have outsmarted him...twice) Irene Adler, and she could not have stuck out any worse than she did. Her hammed performance yanked me right out of the movie whenever she was on-screen; what led Ritchie to cast her in the role is beyond me.
The film blasts by and left me more than satisfied at the end. It was a fun popcorn flick with sharp writing and some great action. Despite McAdams bogging it down, SHERLOCK HOLMES is one of the better movies of 2009. Let the fanboys hate on this film for whatever reason but, as long as you watch it with an open mind and understand that the film serves as Guy Ritchie's interpretation of the character and doesn't need to be seen as the ultimate portrayal, it's a fun film and I can't wait for the inevitable sequel.