After finally catching serial killer and occult sorcerer Lord Blackwood, legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson can close yet another successful case. But when Blackwood mysteriously returns from the grave and resumes his killing spree, Holmes must take up the hunt once again. Contending with his partner's new fiancée and the dimwitted head of Scotland Yard, the dauntless detective must unravel the clues that will lead him into a twisted web of murder, deceit, and black magic - and the deadly embrace of temptress Irene Adler. - synopsis from IMDB
Cast - full listing
Genres
action, crime, comedy
Facts & Figures
Directed by Guy Ritchie.
Rated 7.6 on IMDB from 499189 votes.
Runtime: 128 min.
Review
Once you have a reputation, most of the work goes into maintaining it. So in this case, Ritchie must have wondered how to do that with Sherlock Holmes. The answer? To make a modern-day interpretation of the detective’s adventures and get a proper cast to do the rest. Mission accomplished. Sherlock Holmes is a very enjoyable movie that combines humor with action and a little bit of surprise.
That combination is the movie’s strongest asset. As a comedy, it would have failed. As an action movie, it would have failed. There’s too little of any to warrant such a specific focus. Put them all together though, and it works quite well.
Visually Ritchie is on right on the mark as usual. I particularly enjoyed some of the camera positions and motions and the beginning of the movie. The richness of the 19th century London scene takes no time to get adjusted to.
There were apparently some raised eyebrows when Downey Jr. was named as Holmes (because he’s not British and weren’t there plenty of fine British actors?) but he never fails to deliver. With Law at his side, the wit and cunningness of the detective is portrayed excellently.
Seen: 08 Jan 2010
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