Sherlock Holmes

A movie like Sherlock Holmes is bulletproof to me. The combination of cast, director, story, and tone means even if it fails I’m going to at least have a new movie to watch 100 times on TNT. Luckily it didn’t fail and in fact delivered on all of my expectations.

It’s nice to be in the middle of the let’s see what Robert Downey Jr. does this time around era. Downey was an intriguing choice to play Sherlock Holmes, but in the end this wasn’t the usual film translation of the literary character. Guy Ritchie turned this into an action movie and Downey was able to bring all the necessary character moments in the tiny intervals where shit wasn’t blowing up or fists were not connecting with faces. I don’t remember too much of an English accent but I’ve never been distracted by the horrendousness or absence of accents in movies. And where the hell has this version of Jude Law been the last 5 years? There was a time when Law could be counted on, Road to Perdition, The Aviator, Closer, and then he just disappeared from the scene. Thankfully he was up to the challenge of going toe to toe with Downey throughout the movie. If this ends up being the first in a series of films, I look forward to seeing this version of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. As for the first entry, I’m a huge fan of Mark Strong so I’m always happy to see his face even if he is just the villain that sets the scene for Moriarty down the road. I guess the speculation is Brad Pitt was the mystery voice leading to him taking on the role of Moriarty down the road. That would be interesting.

There is not much to say about Sherlock Holmes. It had Robert Downey Jr. and lots of sweet action scenes, that is enough for me. Every movie doesn't have to be an Oscar contender.

8 out of 10