Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Crime stories have long been an enduring part of popular fiction. Tales of criminals and the do-gooders who bring them to justice have been around in some form or another since near the end of the eighteenth century. And of the different types of crime stories, detective stories have been among some of the most popular. Elements of the sub-genre can be seen in police procedurals like the CSI and Law & Order television franchises, while the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Scooby-Doo's gang of meddling kids, and Batman are all household names.

But of all the detectives to have been seen in fiction, it is perhaps Sherlock Holmes who has made the biggest impact on the genre. Created by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887, Holmes has become almost synonymous with the concept of fictional detectives. The influence that Doyle's famous sleuth has had on pop culture over the last 133 years is quite impressive, as even TV shows like House owe a certain debt of gratitude to Sherlock Holmes.

Some people were a bit taken aback, however, when Warner Bros. announced that it would be making a Sherlock Holmes movie. The trailers and the casting are what really stunned them, because it was completely unlike what they expected. But you know what? It turned out to be one heck of an entertaining movie.

Three months have passed since Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) handled his last case, and the boredom has been driving him batty. It's only compounded by the fact that his friend and sidekick Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) is ending their partnership so he can settle down and marry his fiancée (Kelly Reilly).

Holmes's life starts to get interesting again, however, when he's visited by Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), an old flame and con artist who was the only person to have outwitted him. She comes to Holmes asking him to locate a missing person on behalf of a mysterious benefactor, a task so simple that there has to be something sinister about it.

The search for this missing person ends up crossing paths with a much more pressing mystery. You see, Holmes and Watson had once assisted Scotland Yard in apprehending a serial killer named Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). Before he was hanged for his crimes, he predicted that his execution would not stop him from taking more lives. It seems his prediction has come true, as Lord Blackwood has apparently risen from the grave and resumed his murderous ways. His ultimate goal: to overthrow the British Parlament before moving on to the rest of the world.

Now is the time when I must confess that I am thoroughly unfamiliar with Sherlock Holmes. I was aware of him, Dr. Watson, and Moriarity, sure. But having never read any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novels or short stories, and having seen no other adaptation, I had no compass with which to gauge how I felt Holmes should be depicted.

That said, I think my general ignorance in relation to Holmes may have worked in my favor, because it allowed me to see the movie for what it was: a fun adventure movie. Purists can complain all they want, but I got exactly what I wanted to see out of Sherlock Holmes. It was exciting, entertaining, and just plain fun. And what's so wrong with that?

Guy Ritchie is at the helm here, and his direction is slick and stylish. He puts the movie's production values and Victorian-age affectations — from the art direction to the costumes to even Hans Zimmer's Oscar-nominated score — to good use, combining it with the fantastic cinematography to create a movie that is splendid to look at. Ritchie crafts the movie in such a way that he keeps the viewer engaged once they're sucked in, moving at a quick enough pace that there are rarely any lulls in the action or humor.

It also helps that Ritchie also has a very capable cast to work with. Robert Downey Jr. is nothing short of wonderful in the title role, playing Holmes as a smirking rogue whose intelligence has given him something of a superiority complex. Like with many of Downey's recent movies, he's obviously having a ball working on the movie. That's part of what makes him so much fun to watch. He's engaging and likable even if Holmes can be kind of a prick at times. And I know some of the purists may complain, but I thought Downey was perfect for what the movie wanted to do.

In the role of Holmes's loyal sidekick, Jude Law is a lot of fun too. While he and Holmes approach their roles differently, they work very well together. Law's low-key acting makes him a great foil for Downey's intensity, playing Watson as someone more than willing to trade barbs with Holmes.

I also quite liked Rachel McAdams as the flirtatious yet devious Irene Adler, but her performance is a bit lightweight when compared to her co-stars. It doesn't help that the role doesn't feel as strong as it could have been. Irene is supposed to be capable of outsmarting Holmes, yet you never get the impression that she's more than a typical love interest. She also comes across as being a bit too modern for a Victorian-era woman, and she only seems to exist to establish the villain for Sherlock Holmes 2. But regardless, I thought McAdams did as good a job hanging with Downey and Law as she could.

Rounding out the main cast is Mark Strong as the villainous Lord Blackwood. Strong actually spends very little time onscreen, and when he does appear, his performance is hindered by a character that isn't as well-rounded as he could have been. I'll get into the character later, but thanks to how poorly Blackwood is written, it causes Strong to be inconsistent. Sometimes he's actually rather creepy, but feels stiff at other times, like he's just going through the motions. He's okay enough, I guess, but I thought Strong could have tried a little harder and overcame his character's shortcomings.

And really, the script could have used a wee bit more polishing when it comes to some things. Credited to Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, and Simon Kinberg from a story by Johnson and Lionel Wigram, the script is rather anemic when it comes to telling a story and making its villain look credible. On the topic of the villain, I will admit that there are moments when they make Blackwood look quite clever. But by the end, he's just your typical megalomaniac. Doesn't every stereotypical villain scheme to take over the world? Come on, where's the originality in that?

Moving on to the story, there doesn't really seem to be much of one. The whole thing seems to be a series of moments where they expect Ritchie and the cast to go out there and take care of business on their own. I really don't know how they managed to stretch the movie out to two hours when there's only ninety minutes of plot. All the padding in there is the script's biggest flaw.

In the script's defense, though, I did like the sequences where Holmes would rattle off each step in a sequence of moves he would need to use to win a fistfight. They're really neat and show just how clever Holmes can be even in combat. The only bad part is that there are only two of these moments, both of which happen relatively early in the movie. I don't know why they dropped it, because there were quite a few moments when the idea could have been used. It just seems like it wasn't used to its full potential, and I hope they reprise it (without going into overkill) in the eventual sequel.

But even if the story is flawed, I still thought Sherlock Holmes was a lot of fun. Yeah, the diehard Holmes fans might not care for how Guy Ritchie and crew have interpreted the character. That doesn't stop the movie from being an entertaining ride from start to finish, though. It's definitely worth your time if you haven't seen it yet. So on the usual Sutton Scale, I'll give Sherlock Holmes four stars. It's only elementary, my dear readers.

Final Rating: ****