Enjoyable Fun

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2010)

I've been a Holmes fan since I first read the short stories at the age of 13 - I know them very well and am familiar with a lot of the adaptions of Doyle's work. And there is very little in this film concerning Holmes' character that isn't mentioned somewhere in the "Canon". I found it a neat trick to re-emphasise Holmes' abilities, instead of the reasoning machine who is talked of being an expert boxer we get to see it. Many of the little details are taken directly from the stories - Holmes' poisoning of Watson's bull-pup for example.
I found Robert Downey jr to be an excellent, if more dishevelled Holmes. But if your idea of the consulting detective is the Jeremy Brett t.v. series you better forget it here. Jude Law, an actor I've always found to be an acquired taste, is also a fine Watson, and the two get involved in as much fighting and fisticuffs as detecting. In short, it's great fun, ably handled by Guy Ritchie. I thought him a strange choice to direct a Holmes movie before I actually saw it: but I was wrong. Richie captures the seedy Victorian London milieu splendidly.
The story is in the vein of a supernatural happening that Holmes has to try and disprove, like Hound Of The Baskervilles or The Sussex Vampire. The solution to the mystery is a little far-fetched to say the least, but then, it's surely meant to be. There's a lot of geographical jiggory-pokery going on, too. Holmes purists will not be pleased, but I'm not so stuffy: an entertaining ride with plenty of humour.