Sherlock Holmes

As a lifelong Sherlock fan I was very pleased with the movie. What it gets so right is it takes all of the classic touchstones, nails the look and gets the atmosphere spot on, then sprinkles in some comedy and shoots the detective sequences like an episode of CSI whilst never jarring you out of the period.

RDJ as Holmes is brilliant, he wisely chooses not to emulate Brett or Rathbone or even stick overly closely to the books, like the film itself he embodies the spirit and many of the facets of the character but puts his own modern spin oh him, creating one of the most entertaining interpretations I have seen.

Jude Law is actually built more like the way Holmes is drawn and is the only Watson I have seen to be taller than Holmes, yet it doesn't play on your mind at all as the two work together seamlessly in creating the classic duo. The choice to turn Irene Adler into a spunky American thief is an inspired one and Rachel McAdams imbues her with a real zest and charm. If there is a weakness on the character front it is Lord Blackwood, Mark Strong does fine creating menace in the scenes he is in but they are few and he is a pretty average villain.

Speaking of villains the introduction of Moriarty was superbly executed and creates the required air of menace around him, especially I imagine for those not familiar with the character, my only complaint would be the voice, not quite sinister enough IMO.

The action is not as big as I was expecting but the sequences that are there are very well executed, mixing modern editing with oldschool action, the chase to the shipyards in particular is fun and I thought the scene where Watson and Holmes are caught in the booby trap explosion was visually stunning, however the films greatest use of visuals is in the brilliantly executed deduction scenes.

The story is good enough to be a Holmes mystery, the twists are smartly unwound and I was engaged in the intrigue for the full run time, the film zips along at a fair pace but never feels rushed.

I'm not a fan of Guy Richie in the least but I commend his achievement here, he's created a visually grand, funny adventure/detective movie that is both a modern take and classic Holmes merged into a highly entertaining package.

8.5/10