Review: Sherlock Holmes

I love the television show House MD.
It is smart, interesting, and it showcases one of the best characters in television history—Gregory House. House is a doctor who specializes in cases most unusual and profound, those other doctors are unable to diagnose. With a small team around him, he does. He is a drug addict due to an injury done his leg, he is an arrogant narcissist, he takes great pleasure in discovering the truth even if it means destroying people’s lives, and he pushes away everyone with his eccentric negative qualities.
He is, in effect, the Sherlock Holmes of our time.
I had not put that together when I went to see Sherlock Holmes. It was a pleasant surprise though.
It meant I was going to enjoy the movie immensely.
And I did.
Sherlock Holmes is Hollywood done right. Ignore the action-packed trailers the movie studio chose to play on the television; they mislead what the majority of the movie contains. At its heart, Sherlock Holmes is about characters, character development, and a fun mystery set in Victorian England—all surrounded with great CGI that does not detract from the film or its story.
It makes for a great movie, one that is worthy of the priciest night showing.

Robert Downey Jr. plays Sherlock Holmes, a man possessed to discover truth. Through keen observation and deductive reasoning, Holmes works the toughest cases Scotland Yard comes up against. Not for fame. Not for fortune. No, instead Holmes enjoys the act of pitting his mind against the most difficult obstacles man can devise. For him, the act drives him, to the point he is utterly dysfunctional when it comes to the relationships around him.
But when Lord Blackwood, a practitioner of Satanic magical arts, is caught, hung, and yet rises from the dead to become a grave threat, Holmes must use all of powers to crack the mystery and save England from a terrible new world order.
Guy Ritchie directs the actors into great performances. Mostly known for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, Ritchie is back with a great movie after several duds. Robert Downey Jr. embodies Holmes, and Jude Law excels at Dr. John Watson, the confidante and friend to Holmes who hates the man even as he tries to care for him. Rachel McAdams, a particular favorite of mine, plays the sinister and sexy Irene Adler, the love interest for Holmes and the only person to have bested him twice.
Mark Strong, who fantasy fans will recognize as Septimus from Stardust, gives a dark performance as Lord Blackwood.
Robert Downey Jr. is Holmes right from the movie’s opening. You see how discerning he is, how calculating he is, how he observes every nuance of a scene or person. You also see a Holmes who is overcome by numerous addictions—those of science and those of the mind. In my opinion, it is a role Downey Jr. was meant to play. Both men are eccentric in their ways; both men know what it means to be an addict. Downey Jr. may look like the perfect Tony Stark, but he was suited for Sherlock Holmes.
Those who enjoy a good mystery will enjoy Sherlock Holmes. The movie has twist and turns galore. Just like House MD, every clue is presented to the characters as well as the watcher, allowing for a fun interaction that left me guessing the entire movie. Some of the clues I got, most of them I did not. At the end, after all elements have unfolded, it all makes sense.
Still, it is the relationship between Holmes and Watson that make the movie. Holmes is destructive in almost every way; Watson is a doctor whose role is to keep Holmes sound of body. Where Holmes enjoys having Watson around as a practical voice of reason, the doctor can’t stand being around the narcissistic and sarcastic detective. To discover truth, one gets himself into mischief; the other works hard at keeping them out of it. It produces a lot of conflict. It also produces some great dialog and fun scenes that movie goers will enjoy well after the credits have begun rolling.
Sherlock Holmes is that best of holiday movies. It is entertaining, for both men and women, and it delivers an interesting storyline with laughs and moments of intense action.
Now I have to wait until the sequel is released in a few years!
Until then, Sherlock Holmes is far beyond elementary.
8/10 Stars