Downey Jr. & Law help tide over a mediocre plot.

Grade: B

Sherlock Holmes

Indian Release Date: 08/01/10
CBFC Classification:  A
Running Length: 2 Hours 10 Minutes

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Kelly Reilly, Eddie Marsan
Director: Guy Ritchie
Screenplay: Michael Robert Johnson and Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg, based on characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle
Cinematography: Philippe Rousselot
Music: Hans Zimmer

The first time English literature’s most iconic detective ever graced the silver screen was in the year 1905, in the movie ‘Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ & since then there have been countless adaptations. I haven’t seen all of them (not even close) & it’s been nearly a decade since I read a story but other than 1985’s ‘Young Sherlock Holmes’ all of them have followed the familiar classic mould of portraying the character & his adventures. Guy Ritchie recreates Holmes for a new era & frames him in a hyperkinetic style akin to a superhero.     

The movie opens with Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) & Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) along with help from Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan) foiling a murderous satanic ritual being conducted by Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). Lord Blackwood is sentenced to death by hanging & the punishment is carried out, but by some means he returns from the dead to send a wave of terror through the streets of London. Meanwhile Holmes is having pangs of jealousy & dreading loneliness because his dear Watson is getting married to Mary (Kelly Reilly) & plans to move out of their bachelor pad soon. He’s soon also visited by his ex-flame Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) who has a job for him & may be actually working for a well known nemesis of Holmes. All things in some manner or the other add up to aiding in providing the distraction from the less than stellar plot about Blackwood.   

The essence or the goal of a reboot/reimagining is to present the character or story in a new dimension while retaining traits & themes of the original. If taken this path simply on face value Guy Ritchie has done an amazing job with the characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes retains the same analytical skills he possessed in previous incarnations but this isn’t the same Holmes which we had read about & seen on screen before. He’s a bit of a social misfit, just like all brilliant men are in some manner; he’s quite well trained in martial arts & his quirky mannerisms even suggest possible drug abuse, he spends an inordinate time conjuring various contraptions & testing certain drugs on Watson’s dog, his relationship with Watson too is more than just the of a ‘master & assistant’ of the past, they are equal partners now and Watson isn’t the fumbling fool who has to be explained everything by Holmes. Holmes & Watson can be compared to the Victorian Batman & Robin & with Ritchie going all out with the physical action elements of the story & characters the comparison isn’t far off the mark, though it would have been nice to have Holmes less than a superhero all the time & a tad more human.

The biggest culprit here is the plot whose setup is intriguing but unfolds in an obtuse manner leaving behind enough plot holes to sink the story. (Incomplete) Explanations are provided to the audience at the end but the whole breakdown seems trite simply because Holmes deductions though are happening in his head throughout aren’t ever shared with the viewer till the end (the audience isn’t ever given a shot at solving the crime for itself since all the relevant information is always held back & never even gets the pieces for the puzzle forget the larger picture), like he was saving it up for the climax just to prove Blackwood how smart he is & knew of his nefarious plan all along which makes it look like the most obvious thing to do as the movie was coming to an end anyways (almost like an episode of House M.D.) The writers probably simply ran out of ideas to pad up the running length with more pointless action sequences. Now that brings me to the climax which takes place atop the London Bridge which is under construction & the whole action piece wasn’t required one bit but I guess a blockbuster movie couldn’t have a simple cerebral ending (the audience probably needed a bang for their buck to end it all with). Some of the CGI work too was shoddy particularly during the shipyard fight. It has some wonderfully choreographed & shot slow-motion fight sequences (Snatch anyone?) but there’s far too much action shoehorned into the whole tale which accords less time & logic to the crime at hand.

The Victorian era London is recreated with astounding precision, just watch the scene in the restaurant early on & you’d realize even small things such as crockery are delightfully old worldly. The perpetually overcast conditions of the city lend an almost intoxicating dark & brooding tone to movie.   

The entire cast is wonderful with the sole exception of Rachel McAdams who isn’t bad but simply miscast for a Victorian era period. Robert Downey Jr. embodies Holmes like no other actor before him & his mannerisms are spot on for an eccentric genius like Holmes. The dry wit & humor delivered tongue in check perfectly by him elicited some pretty solid laughs from me. I’ve never been much of a fan of Jude Law before but his work here is quite good & chemistry which he shares with Downey Jr. is one of the main components that elevate the movie out of mediocrity. Law’s Watson is almost like the Sherlock Holmes of the previous adaptations. Mark Strong is fast turning into one of my favorite actors with his character pieces & he puts in an excellent performance here.

Sherlock Holmes is breezy watch, with enough humor, action & plot twists to keep the undemanding viewer occupied. It tends to drag in certain parts & the story isn’t credible enough but they don’t really distract you from the best part of the movie which is the amazing chemistry displayed by Holmes & Watson. Their constant bickering & characterization would be the prime reason I’d be looking forward to a sequel (which this movie takes unnecessary steps to setup), now only if they can come up with a legitimate Sherlock Holmes story next time around.

Final Verdict: It’s elementary my dear....you should watch it once at least, for Robert Downey Jr. & Jude Law, if for nothing else.  

Grade: B

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