A couple of weeks later than everyone else I think but I've had a chance to see Guy Ritchie's take on Sherlock Holmes now and I thought is quite fun.
First off it is very much an adventure film rather than a detective story as Homes and Watson chase down an evil mastermind to prevent him form killing Parliament. Points here though for avoiding taking the origin story route and giving us Holmes' first big case and him meeting Watson for the first time, no Holmes is already a well known detective and his friendship with Watson already clearly a long held one.
It is actually the friendship, the 'bromance' between Holmes and Watson on which the film hangs. The bickering, joshing and friendship of the central pair entertaining us almost with the case at hand being secondary. Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson respectively pull of this pair of characters with a strong level of charm. Downey Jr's Holmes is basically a cad about town who happens to be smarter than everyone else and Law's Watson is a principled man (albiet with a gambler's habit) who is smart can capable himself and no the buffoon the character is sometimes drawn as.
Alongside the two we have Racheal McAdmams as a criminal chanteuse and former lover of Holmes. It does feel like a large section of the part has been left on the cutting room floor to help the film pace wise but I thought she did well with what she was given and her Irene essentially becomes one of the boys whilst still needing rescuing the plot calls for it.
We do get flashes of Guy Ritchie's stylistic ticks in a couple of places; various fights are shown in slo-mo before being completed in quicktime and the most obvious is the tracking of Holmes during an explosion again in slow motion. But mostly he appears happy to produce a fairly straightforward action comedy of the type that will please families (very little in the way of innuendo that can lead to difficult questions from younger ones).
The sly insertion of a certain nemesis for Holmes is a smart touch to which should pay off nicely in the already greenlit second outing. So if you go in expecting something light and enjoyable you'll like it but it is certainly not (as mentioned) a detective tale, closer to the adventure of Basil The Great Mouse Detective than the calculated smarts of Jeremy Brett's TV incarnation.
1 comment:
I enjoyed the dumb fun as well. I got over Irene the American when I recalled she actually was American (mostly German/European though) in the stories. I seeing London's docks instead of the usual foggy Dickension streets and the old fashioned fisticuffs. What annoyed me like mad (other than the incredibly rude teenagers behind us) was the standard American audience pandering. That whole ridiculous American ambassador (who is also a goodie) plot line inclusive of ridiculous historically inaccurate comments about how once they take the UK, they will take the USA (forget the incredibly lucrative colonies in Africa, India and the Far East). Yes, good little Americans, you are now invested in this film because the baddies will get you too!
Bloody Hollywood. Fantastic Mr Fox mutter mutter mutter
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