Again, I know I took a long break here, but I was busy watching Scott Pilgrim another 5 times (no, I'm not kidding, go see the movie) and doing school work. Incidentally, the only new film I've seen since Scott Pilgrim was Piranha 3D, and chances are you already know if you're going to see that or not, but if for some reason anyone reading this is undecided, leave a comment on my facebook so I know to review it for you.
Category: Action-Adventure Mystery
Premise: ...really? Alright. Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his steadfast companion Dr. Watson (Jude Law) are thrust into the fold of Lord Blackwood's (Mark Strong) plot to take over England using dark ritual practices.
Zer(o)verview:
First of all, I'd like to give a sincere thank you to Guy Ritchie for being his already excellent directing ability, (see Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) to mainstream films, especially in the "shadows of London" atmosphere that so fits Sherlock Holmes.
But, to the movie. From the first time I saw the preview, I knew I would like this movie. Not just because I love all 3 headliners (Downey Jr., Law, and McAdams) but because Guy Ritchie finally stopped portraying Sherlock as a good guy.
Have any of you read the stories that Sir Doyle wrote? Holmes is mad. He's a lunatic. He has deeply ingrained drug and alcohol problems, and although Ritchie only touches on the drugs briefly, he consistently brings up the alcoholism. Bravo! And Downey Jr. does an excellent job emulating this insanity on-screen.
Speaking of Downey on-screen, his chemistry with co-stars Law and McAdams is exemplary. Jude Law finally delivers the Watson I've wanted since I was young. Not a bumbling idiot that follows Holmes around and never really contributes. A Watson that balances out Holmes' insanity with sound logic and strong physical presence. For God's sake, Watson was a decorated military hero, why was he ever portrayed as a bumbling idiot? While Downey's Holmes is still the bread-winner here, Law's Watson is the example I would show directors who want to make a Sherlock Holmes film in the future.
Rachel McAdams plays Irene Adler, who, unless you are an avid Sir Arthur Conan Doyle reader, you probably have never heard of before since she's only mentioned in like 1 story. Ever. At all. But, I excuse this due to the fact that Guy Ritchie fleshed her out and made her story and the story of Moriarty more interesting (setting up for a sequel, no doubt), and the fact that he cast McAdams as the actress to play her. +1 for Mr. Ritchie. And she does a pretty good job to boot.
Mark Strong is the antagonist of the show, Lord Blackwood, an outcast British lord with ties to "The House of Four" which is essentially an Illuminati-esque organization in England and America. He is believed to have supernatural powers and uses them to exert control over England. To be honest, he was the weakest character out of all the leads, which is unfortunate, since the villain development is crucial to making the story believable and deep. Fortunately, with a director like Ritchie, villains are never the focus of the movie, the atmosphere and plot are.
Ritchie uses the "shadows of London" atmosphere brillantly, and has a compelling music score throughout. The real gems of the movie are still the interactions between Holmes and Watson, and the audience trying to deduce how Blackwood accomplished all the things he did before Holmes reveals all of it. On top of that, it's genuinely funny. The sub-plots, Watson's engagement to Mary, and Holmes and Adler's obvious sexual tension, aren't built up much at all, but again, they don't need to be, that's not the focus of the movie. It doesn't take away from the movie, but it doesn't add much to it either, except the Adler-Moriarty set up for the sequel.
GROUND ZERO: An excellent performance by Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and Rachel McAdams, combined with an interesting plot, captivating atmosphere and genuinely funny dialogue all guided by the direction of Snatch's Guy Ritchie make this a must-see for all mystery buffs.
5 out of 5.
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