An excellent, entertaining rendering of Sherlock Holmes

Rating: 10/10 (13 March 2011)

This is one of my favorite movies to date; watching it again made me remember exactly how much I loved it and inspired me to write a review (well, recommendation, really).
Pros:

The plot held up, keeping you guessing, but when the solution was revealed it didn't come completely out of the blue. There were clues, and re-watching lets you see exactly how the pieces came together in Holmes's head. Some people enjoy picking apart solid plots and declaring them imperfect and implausible, but this one really doesn't deserve that. Is there a movie plot in existence that *can't* be picked apart if someone tries hard enough?

The cinematography was superb. Every set, every sweeping shot of grimy, rainy, nineteenth century London, pulled you into the same time and place as the legendary Sherlock Holmes and his companion, Dr. Watson. The coloring was very dark and murky - blues, grays, and browns - and it fit perfectly.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law were fantastic in their respective roles; stellar performances from both of them, and their chemistry was great. They truly brought to life the strange friendship of Holmes and Watson: two entirely different individuals, yet ultimately dependent on one another.

It was witty. Sarcasm and dark humor joined with action (not necessarily fight scenes, but unceasing *activity*) to keep up the pace of the film, making it smart, entertaining, and funny (I actually laughed aloud a few times).

I loooooved the soundtrack. I'm a fan of Hans Zimmer, and he didn't disappoint this time around. It's very string-heavy (maybe that's why I like it? I play the violin) and sets the tone for the film nicely. Writing this, I have a part of it stuck in my head again.

Con:

Sometimes it was hard to distinguish exactly what was being said. The dialogue is very fast paced, and a combination of the accents and that mumbling thing that actors do way too often made it kind of hard to catch every line in the theater. If you're watching it at home (it's not in theaters anymore, so I guess you would be watching it at home), make sure you raise the volume, rewind, etc. because basically everything is worth hearing.

I definitely, definitely recommend this. Sure, "purists" will complain that it doesn't exactly fit the timeline that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created (concerning Mary and Irene), but with so much material to draw from and condense into a movie, can you really blame them for reinventing it a bit? I think they did a stellar job of taking two well-known characters, fully fleshing them out, and placing them in an entirely new adventure. "Sherlock Holmes" only adds to the canon; it doesn't detract from it.