Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, and Mark Strong
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images and a scene of suggestive material
Throughout history, Sherlock Holmes has proved many people to be wrong. The latest addition to that list is myself, who wrongly scoffed at the newest Sherlock Holmes film before watching it. You see, when I saw that British director Guy Ritchie was helming a Sherlock Holmes project, I thought he would turn Conan Doyle’s story into another shock-jock gangster film. While his style was still there, and he certainly jazzed up some of the action elements, the film not only stayed relatively faithful to Conan Doyle’s vision, but was also a lot of fun to watch. Holmes wasn’t the rock-star/sex god as portrayed in the trailer, nor was it a psycho-spiritual tale. Instead, Holmes (played by the iconic Downey Jr.) is a brilliant mind in the realm of observation but is just plain socially awkward in the real world. And, seeing the mad detective trying to figure out the case is an enjoyable experience. While it is fun, the film still has it’s flaws, as well. Rachel McAdams is not nearly a strong enough personality to play Doyle’s famous female villain Irene Adler, the film is also impossible to fully predict, not giving you an understanding of the clues until the big reveal at the end. And, while I appreciated the film not turning to the occult to explain the villain's powers, I also find it dangerous to not respect or even believe in the spiritual realm the way Holmes encourages us to. While horror films may give too much power to that realm, one can’t go around life believing that everything spiritual has a logical explanation, like a Scooby Doo episode. Again, these are insignificant details for a film that put together a wonderful cast, terrific musical score, a magical sense of style, and make for a fun (and fairly clean) time at the movies. It may not reach the classic level of Doyle’s story, but it’s certainly a compliment to his work.
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