REVIEW: ‘Sherlock Holmes’

When fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle saw the first footage of Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes,” the wailing and gnashing of teeth reverberated all the way from California to 221-B Baker Street. Purists need not worry, however – unless they long for the droll days of Basil Rathbone and deerstalker hats. Robert Downey, Jr. does a crackerjack job of bringing the world’s greatest detective to life, even though some of the bombast threatens to drown him out.

Rather than choosing an origin story to introduce Holmes to a new audience, Ritchie drops us dead into the middle of an investigation into the demonic dealings of Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). Holmes and Dr. Watson (Jude Law) stop Blackwood from committing a pagan sacrifice and arrest him. However, Blackwood promises that “death is only the beginning,” and appears to rise from the grave after hanging. Scotland Yard asks Holmes to solve the mystery of Blackwood’s dark dealings, leading the sleuth into a secret society behind London’s seats of power.

“Sherlock Holmes” is at its best when it’s focusing on Holmes’ blinding intellect, or the banter between Holmes and Watson. Both are cast perfectly, and the chemistry between them is absolute perfection. Downey shows that there’s always something magical going on behind Holmes’ eyes, and you truly believe the man is at least three steps ahead of anyone else drawing breath. Simultaneously, Ritchie returns to the original concept that Sherlock Holmes wasn’t just a stuffy intellectual, but a bare-knuckle boxer and the one of Western world’s first martial artists.

Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law

Jude Law deserves equal praise as Dr. Watson, the balancing force in Homes’ life. While Holmes truly infuriates Watson at times, a glance between the two tells the audience they’re inseparable. Watson’s dashing in his own right, and Law gives the character an added dimension of sly humor.

While Rachel McAdams is quite wonderful to look at, her character drags the whole shebang down when on-screen. There’s little (if any) chemistry between Holmes and Irene Adler, and the supposed backstory between the two is hinted at but completely glossed over. While Ritchie gets kudos for attempting to have a ballsy broad fighting alongside Holmes and Watson, the execution simply doesn’t click into place.

There’s some pacing issues with the middle of the movie, where a couple of big reveals and plot points are lost in transition. Also, the final confrontation between Holmes and Blackwood seems to peter out before it had a chance to get rolling. Ritchie knows full well how to pace a good mystery, and it seems that his time away from the genre has affected his editing eye. Also, producer Joel Silver’s memos appartently made it to the set, and there’s one too many big movie explosions that don’t seem to fit with the remainder of the movie.

Regardless, Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes” is a welcome blend of intellectual skulduggery and straight-up action. The groundwork is laid out for more adventures from Downey and Law as Holmes and Watson, and they can’t come fast enough.