Sherlock Holmes Movie

First off, I liked it!

However, I do admit I've never seen an 'official' Sherlock Holmes movie, nor have I ever read any of the stories, books, or play adaptations.  The only Holmes-related thing I've seen was a parody called "Without a Clue" in which Watson is the smart one and Holmes the bumbler.

I'll try not to spoil much of anything here.

Story
The movie starts off with a bit of action.  They don't give you any backstory.  It's not really needed either.

Holmes and Dr. Watson close their last case together by infiltrating a building.  Their actions result in the arrest of Lord Blackwood, who has been dabbling in black magic and murdering young women, and he is sentenced to death.  However, after he is hanged (and Dr. Watson was the one who pronounced him dead afterward), his grave has been broken into (or out of ... ?) and rumors spread that Blackwood has come back from the grave.  The city will go into riotous panic if the truth isn't revealed.

The idea of "black magic" or the supernatural isn't a turn-off for me.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself believed in mediums and participated in seances.



The supernatural is kinda dangerous to put into a movie.  If it's real, there goes the realistic part to your movie (See that Scooby Doo movie with its real ghost/aliens).  If it's not, you'd better have some darn good explanations for what really happened. I won't say which one this movie followed.

The final revelation of the motivations of the black magic organizations that Blackwood belonged to was a bit of a DaVinci Code-ish conspiracy theory thing, but due to the movie's fast pacing, thankfully you won't have enough time to think it over and have it really bother you.  Besides, part of the plot's draw is wondering whether the supernatural element is all real or not. 

Characters
Sherlock Holmes is played by Robert Downey Jr.  That alone should be enough to explain the character.  He's an eccentric Holmes. Not very sociable, but very, very intelligent and perceptive, almost unbelievably so.  Can you really see the exact color of a man's eyes from 8 feet away?



He's also physical, a boxer.  So, there are fight scenes.  Did I mention this is an action movie?  Instead of brooding by the fireplace (or whatever the original Holmes did), he's out looking for Blackwood.  When he's without a case, he tries inventing things, with marginal success (testing anesthesia on the bulldog).

He plays a stringed instrument, too (I'm no music major so forgive me for not knowing the name), which the movie's overall soundtrack seems somewhat modeled on.

The only problem with using Downey Jr., though, is that he is also Iron Man so I kept joking, "But you're Iron Man!  Just fly away!" and "Why didn't you wear your suit?" when he got into trouble.

Anyway, the movie also reiterated many times that Holmes is nothing without his best friend, Dr. Watson, played by Jude Law.



Watson is not the bumbling old fool that many other Holmes stories tend to portray him as.  He's around the same age as Holmes, an accomplished medical doctor.  He's also pretty much Holmes' babysitter.

Dr. Watson no longer wants to be in the mystery business.  He's planning on getting married and moving out of the apartment (?) that he shares with Holmes. However, when Holmes is out investigating the Blackwood mystery, Watson is genuinely concerned for his friend's safety and follows along against his better judgement. 



There are many times I said "Aww :<" (yes with that smiley lol) during the movie.  You just feel bad for Watson and what he goes through.  Plus he's cute.


Blackwood is played by Mark Strong.  I don't know this actor at all, even looking at his other roles on imdb.com.  But in this movie he looks totally creepy, like a vampire or something.  I could definitely believe he'd rise from the dead.



And finally, you've got the standard love interest heroine.  Irene, played by Rachel McAdams.  And for once, Hollywood made a female lead who isn't annoying! Hurrah!  She was believable, not whiney, and she had a normal, understandable voice, with no crazy or outlandish accent. I liked her.  It's very rare for me to like actresses.



She's a professional criminal who Holmes apparently knew, and never forgot, way back when.  She comes in with a separate mystery for Holmes to solve while he is still in the middle of the Blackwood case.  But of course her case is related, and she gets roped into the action.  As it turns out she is being controlled by someone else, but that's another story.

Sound
The movie's audio wasn't good.  I often had trouble understanding what the characters said.  Or maybe it's that I don't do well hearing English accents.  Sometimes I have this problem with Monty Python skits.

But I liked the soundtrack and the overall theme they've chosen.  It fits the scenes.

Especially that Irish song. It was so fun.

Visuals
It's pretty dark throughout the movie.  Don't expect bright and cheery.

They did this slow motion thing where Holmes explains his plan of attack.  And then they execute this plan in real-time.  It was interesting at first, but I think it'll get old if they keep it up.

Not sure what else to say. Movies keep getting better and better, visually.

Final Thoughts
Invariably, the movie is an action movie.  Holmes goes out to investigate on his own and gets into trouble, and the only way out is with a fight.  It's fast-paced and you don't have time to get bored.  But also no time to take a break.

They also invariably left it open for a sequel.  I cant wait for it!

All images from www.beyondhollywood.com