Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Director: Guy Ritchie

Cast: Robert Downie Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams

It is the era of the remake, is it not? Not that any normal movie goer could shout out that they knew of a big budget Sherlock Holmes movie preceding this one. Its just not an original story or character, is what I am trying to say.

Lining up at the movies, you could say I was fairly keen to check this movie out. I wasn’t dressed in the main characters attire, signalling my desire and anxiety about this film coming out. Oh no (I reserve that for only one character). I was however keen on the personnel ‘pulp’ that were being mixed together to form a smooth, rich, and satisfying juice
(What’s this Juice? Its DRINK! – name the quote. Do it)

Through his current reanimation, Robert Downey Jr has been hitting all the right notes. He turned what was a seemingly semi-unknown superhero (for most of the chumps out there) into a box office smash. Its something about his smooth talking and interesting delivery method that gets the critics raving. If you wanted to learn how to pick up chicks, my suggestion – analyse this guy. He acts on screen in the same way one should act in a club. Savvy and confident.
Combine that with another ultimate ladies man in Jude Law (imagine having these two as you wingmen – HOLY SHIT) and we are treated to a contemporary partnership of the timeless duo of Holmes and Watson. Good casting.

Good choice of director too.
I have been a fan of Guy Ritchie’s for a while. He has done some brilliant stuff. However, he has also done some movies that fly over my head and, unless you have a masters degree in English cockney, will fly over yours too. I say he is a good choice of director for this movie because he is one of the few, new-age British directors that have been successful as of late. It is a different type of movie than what he is currently used to. We actually have special effects adorning the film which is quite a change from his dialogue driven movies of the late 90’s. It is very cool how they can alter the feel and look of an entire city such as London to represent a time of centuries ago. It is cool huh?

Just agree.

I can hear your heads nodding.

The story is a typical good guy vs. bad guy story. I liked the way they changed current perception of Holmes. No, he isn’t all moustache and pipe with bowler hat in tow. This guy is a fighter, he has learned to hone his physical skills as well as his mental ones. The edge he has, is that he is able to analyse a situation in a moments notice. If some dude jumps him, even though he is getting a smashed face in the process, Holmes can decipher that his attacker is a smoker (or something) and attack the larynx.
Attack. Attack the larynx.

Smart stuff.

I remember when that James Bond movie ‘Casino Royale’ came out and people everywhere were chocked when they realised that James Bond wasn’t going to be a tall dark and handsome, tuxedo wearing dasher. More so, a brutal blondie, with a killer bod. This was good. James Bond is a highly trained agent, with a licence to kill. He aint going to have no beer/martini gut and go around shaking his fists at guys before knocking them unconscious with one well placed left hook. He is going to deal with guys in a realistic manner, and to do so he has to be physically able.

See the link?

The plot of Sherlock Holmes is more of an introduction to Holmes and this new presentation of him. I can guarantee there will be another movie hot on the heels of this one.  We go through the typical filler before reaching a climax where Holmes must do something to save the world (or London or whatever) and he does so in a nick of time. One criticism I did have with the film was that there wasn’t much of an opportunity for the audience to become detectives of their own. Don’t get me wrong, the way Holmes figures out what is going to happen is nothing short of genius, and yes, the audience can recount how he goes about it. Its just that, I didn’t have a chance in hell of figuring that all out as he did. Someimtes you want to think you are as clever as the main guy. Sometimes you want to see something and put two and two together and revell in your awesomeness as you discover that you too have figured out the mystery before it is made evident.

Apart from that small moan, I quite liked the film. Nothing new really, but pretty entertaining and it was cool seeing a character such as Sherlock Holmes on the big screen finally/again (you tell me)