Guy Ritchie's Version an enjoyable ride

Rating: 7/10 (10 February 2010)

Guy Ritchie has directed a Sherlock Holmes film. And it's turned out as you'd expect a Guy Ritchie directed Sherlock Holmes film to be like. Perhaps better than you'd expect.
This Holmes is not traditional in any sense. He engages in bare knuckle boxing, has a distinctly Mid Atlantic accent and makes clear his disapproval of Dr. Watson moving out of Baker Street to live with his fiancée. The plot is as much action thriller as whodunit with a couple of epic chase sequences that Arthur Conan Doyle must have left out of his books in error.
It is a highly enjoyable film though. The plot is suitably far fetched, involving the take over the British government through Black Magic. The cast are excellent. Robert Downey Junior obviously has a ball as a charming and cynical Holmes. Jude Law is nicely understated as the resourceful doctor. Mark Strong is an excellent villain. Rachel McAdams seems a bit young as Irene Adler, who supposedly has a long history with Holmes but I'll forgive her as she lights up the screen in her scenes.
So it's not quite Sherlock Holmes for the "Loaded" generation but it's style is certainly taken more from Ritchie's previous hits like "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" than the original stories.
Sit back and enjoy the ride and wait for the sequel that is heavily hinted at the end.