What does Iron Man, Jude Law and the director of Snatch all have
in common? Why, it’s elementary, my dear Watson: they are all involved in the
latest cinematic incarnation of Sherlock Holmes, which updates the nineteenth
century master sleuth with smashing wit and style. Robert Downey Jr., still
riding high from his career-reviving role in 2008’s Iron Man, stars here as a
more visceral and down to earth Holmes. He’s still a brooding genius who can
detect entire criminal conspiracies from just the slightest of clues, yet
Downey’s Holmes is also an aficionado of bare knuckle boxing, which keeps him in
shape for all the knock-down, dragged-out fights with villains. There’s nary a
deerstalker hat in sight, as this Holmes prefers more fashionable clothing of the period.
Whereas previous film adaptations of Sherlock Holmes emphasized his brain over
his brawn (despite the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle established Holmes’
considerable physical strength in several of his stories) this Sherlock Holmes
is both a fighter, as well as a bold adventurer--and a very good one, at that.
Yet the big surprise here is actually John Watson, who’s superbly played by Jude
Law. Forget the bumbling oaf that Nigel Bruce played Watson as in the 1940s
Holmes films (my least favorite of the Holmes movies), Law’s Watson is every bit
a fighter that Holmes is--having recently retired from the British Army. He’s
also a gambler, and--much to Holmes’ horror--is breaking up their crime-fighting
partnership by getting married.
Yet Holmes has some girl trouble of his own when Irene Adler returns. Rachel
McAdams is well cast as the one woman, from the Doyle story "A Scandal in Bohemia",
who manages to vex the great Sherlock Holmes, and she’s portrayed here as being
every bit his equal. Holmes will need the extra help, for he’s on the trail of
an occult leader who somehow managed to return from the dead. Mark Strong is
effectively menacing as Lord Blackwood, the central villain and criminal
mastermind. As fitting with this new upgrade, Strong is also physically
threatening, as well as a tactical genius. Sturdy character actor Eddie
Marsan (The Illusionist) rounds out the fine cast as Inspector Lestrade. And
Robert Maillet is another standout as Dredger, a French strong man who provides
both peril and comedy.
Director Guy Ritchie manages to keep things moving quickly and smoothly. He
creates a great chemistry between Downey and Law as Holmes and Watson, as well
as between Downey and McAdams as Holmes and Irene. Ritchie also
recreates a far more gritty and really grimy-looking London, as befitting the era, the
height of the Industrial Age. But as dark and portentous as things may get, the humor
is never lost--thanks in large part to the easy-going repartee between Holmes
and Watson, as well as that of Holmes and Irene. This is just a fun action movie that aims a little higher than most
popcorn films, with striking visual effects, plus the promise of Moriarty in the
sequel. Downey’s dashing Holmes verses the Napoleon Of Crime? I can’t wait. Bring on the sequel! --SF
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