Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with my thoughts on Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes!
The up-fronts: Yes, I have seen a lot of Sherlock Holmes movies and TV, but I’d wager not the lion’s share of the massive amount that has been put out. Until very recently I was completely ignorant of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories. I’m beginning to make amends for that, thanks mostly to my Christmas gift to myself, a Kindle e-reader… the entire Conan Doyle Holmes library was available for only $1 and the second I finished Stephen King’s 1100 page tome, Under the Dome, I started reading A Study in Scarlet with an aim to read all the Holmes material from Doyle in one rush.
I can speak for how the movie played to me as a story, but I’m afraid I can’t compare it to the established literature. Drew’s review at Hitfix can say much more on the subject than I can. He is Moriarty afterall.
While I know it won’t be a unique opinion I have to stress that Sherlock Holmes is a successful picture because of the crazy charisma between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. I’ve long been a fan of Law’s and have stuck with him through some pretty horrid pictures (the Sleuth remake anyone?). When the dude’s on he’s on. I have a big soft spot for his WW2 sniper flick ENEMY AT THE GATES, he’s a great creep in ROAD TO PERDITION and yes, I still stick by the uber-fun callback to vintage pulp entertainment SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW.
We all know Downey is back in top form, so we had no doubt as to his ability to charismatically and energetically carry this film. The real surprise to me was seeing the two bounce off each other.
In other Holmes and Watson movies the two men are usually portrayed as an Odd Couple-like pairing of unlikely friends, but this is the first time I can think of them playing the roles almost like blood-brothers. At their goofiest they’re like 10 year old siblings taunting each other, one-upping each other and at their most serious there’s an obvious and caring familial bond between the two men.
As Holmes would undoubtedly point out there are many small pieces that make up the larger puzzle. In this case the story is of Watson trying to pull away from Holmes, move out of 221b Baker Street and pursue an engagement with a lovely lady. This forces Holmes to be a third wheel, a position he’s not used to and doesn’t like very much.
But like the mafia Watson can’t help but be pulled back in time and time again, usually at the careful prodding and planning of Holmes. So there’s a split between the two, a slight divide that Watson is trying to widen and Holmes is trying to repair.
So on top of the performances and the personal chemistry between Law and Downey the story is primed for this bickering, but loving friendship.
The occult plays a large part in the mystery afoot, most notably the main menace of Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) a dark and charming cult leader sacrificing girls in evil ceremonies as the story begins.
That’s not so much the mystery that needs solving. We essentially jump in at the end of that particular case, but the real mystery happens after Blackwood is captured and convicted, this time surrounding a more noble Templar-ish cult of old, rich and powerful white guys being picked off by what appears to be a dead man.
And then there’s the figure glimpsed only in shadow. Who’s that guy, with chalk on his lapel? Whoever he is, McAdams’ Irene Adler is scared of him and Ms. Adler isn’t shaken by anything or anyone.
The big question is the action element and how does that fit into the story. Quite well, actually. It was another pleasant surprise for me to see that Ritchie didn’t inject pointless action for updating purposes. There’s no “This ain’t your father’s Sherlock Holmes!” feel to the excitement of the flick. Instead Ritchie and the multiple credited writers grounded the action in character.
If a big explosion happens it’s done in a way this ignorant viewer feels is realistic. The action has real consequences to our heroes. Whenever there’s a fight scene we see Holmes’ deductive reasoning in slow motion and then see him implement his plans in real time. We know from the books that Watson is a soldier and trained as one and that Holmes dabbles in bare knuckle boxing, so the fisticuffs aren’t a stretch.
The biggest leap of disbelief we have to take as audience members is the big dry-docked boat set piece that literally tears the dock to splinters, but like Spielberg said when someone complained that no one would believe a shark would chew on an air tank “By that time I’ll already have them.” They already had me and it’s an exhilarating sequence even if more than any other in the movie you just have to kind of go with the flow.
From the production design to the costuming, the world feels authentic and if you’re anything like me you’re in for the adventure in the first 5 minutes.
Downey and Law absolutely knock this out of the park and McAdams holds her own in such talented company with a character that is Marion Ravenwood-ish in design. Guy Ritchie also deserves a lot of credit for bringing enough of his sensibilities to play that you feel his influence on the film, but taming it down to let the story take center stage and not his style.
Holmes is a very well-mixed potion of cinema entertainment and that’s why I’d be willing to wager we’re going to see some legs on this film. Most audiences, if mine was any indicator, will walk out of this movie grinning and wanting to see the further adventures of Downey’s Holmes and Law’s Watson, much like a good majority of you guys left JJ Abrams’ Star Trek wanting to see the further adventures of that crew. I know I want to see more… especially with the set-up we get for the next flick. Lots of promise there. We’ll see how it shapes up!
Happy Holidays, squirts and may you all get presents that make you feel like this kid:
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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