Sherlock Holmes (2009)

 Sherlock Holmes was with a doubt my most anticipated film of 2009.  The combination of Hollywood's new number one blockbuster star Robert Downey Jr., mixed with Jude Law, the lovely Rachel McAdams and the ability of Guy Ritchie to make a gritty version of Sherlock Holmes had me hopeful for one of the best action films of year.  Sadly while all those mentioned upon played their roles remarkably well Sherlock Holmes didn't live up to my possibly unattainable expectations, it's a good film but it's nothing great.

Unlike many of the recent Hollywood reboots Sherlock Holmes is not an origin based story.  We don't see the transformation of what lead Sherlock Holmes to become a brilliant detective, although that might have been a more interesting storyline.  No, we're introduced to Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his partner in investigation Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) as they complete their last case together, bringing to justice the murderous student of black magic Lord Blackwood.  But the capture of Blackwood is almost too seamless, an occurrence that even puzzles Sherlock Holmes.  Before his hanging Blackwood informs Holmes that his death is only the beginning and that he (Holmes) is a key player in what is to progress next, something Holmes will never be able to wrap his mind around.

With Blackwood dead and in the ground the duo of Holmes and Watson appears to be at an end, as Watson has plans to get married and start a family.  Sherlock Holmes is not too keen on losing his best friend and long time partner, trying to persuade him on multiple occassions to change his mind.  It's not until Blackwood fulfills his cryptic professions and appears to rise from his grave that it seems the duo will stick together a while longer.  At least as long as it takes to prevent Blackwood from carrying out his master plan of world domination!

Sherlock Holmes ranks among the worlds most well known literary characters and has been portrayed in some form on film since 1905's Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  Guy Ritchie's exhibition is surely the most expensive, explosive and most action oriented of them all.  When I think of Sherlock Holmes, action star doesn't usually enter my mind, I've never been a big fan of the franchise in the past but I would assume that the character wasn't such a master in hand to hand combat.  So while most people seem to agree that this new aged version of Sherlock Holmes does mirror the original literary character, I doubt the action aspect of the film is anything but an add in, something I have absolutely no issues with it.  It's the action sequences combined with the actor's performances which keep the story alive, without them I could only imagine a normal tedious Sherlock Holmes story that's probably more tedious than most.

It's clearly the story that becomes the Sherlock Holmes main issue.  It's interesting to a point then quickly becomes rather routine and tedious.  After my viewing I can't help feeling Sherlock Holmes is only a high priced setup to something bigger and better, that being the inevitable sequel.  Why else would Ritchie continually tease us with the hooded character, whose identity is obvious from the beginning to any Sherlock Holmes layman and is finally revealed at the film's end?  The entire point of Rachel McAdams's character is even tied into this character, it's almost as if the sequel's being setup before the current film gets a fair shot!  I definitely believe this harms the development of Sherlock Holmes, when concentration seems to be placed more on setup the next film than making the current one it's own solid entry.

But while the story is mediocre, Sherlock Holmes is not a total waste, the film is really saved by it's excellent cast of leading actors.  Robert Downey Jr. once again gives a great performance as Sherlock Holmes a rather flamboyant and snooty version of Iron Man's Tony Stark.  Jude Law is a great right hand man as Dr. Watson, and as always my favorite was the lovely Rachel McAdams who plays Irene Adler, her first rather enticing and villainous role.  In the story reference is made to past encounters between Adler and Holmes and how she had been the only person to ever outsmart him on multiple occassions, I would have enjoyed seeing a storyline based around that, it would have definitely been more entertaining.

As for Blackwood play by Mark Strong, the character was sorely under utilized, lending him to be mysterious but also quite useless since he's never given an opportunity for any real character development.  Once again this is the fault of the writers who seemed more interested in other things.  All the real interesting things dealing with Blackwood seemed to again be referenced to (such as the history with Adler and Holmes) then the character is referred to more often in the film than he is actually seen.  Also a rather confusing aspect worth noting is that Irene Adler appears to be the girl being sacrificed by Blackwood in the opening scenes, yet none of the characters seem to acknowledge this later on when they meet again, I found that a little odd.

Overall, I think most people will be generally pleased with the experience Sherlock Holmes has to offer.  Personally I was a little let down, mainly by the story which I sincerely believe suffered because it's more a setup to the sequel than a stand alone film.  I have no problem with sequels and thoroughly expected there was already one in the works, but usually sequel setups are left for the end of the film, not progressed throughout the entire film!  It's almost as if the writers didn't have much confidence in what they had going for the first installment that they needed to throw in the building blocks for the second installment to hold people's interest or to even support the film.  But luckily everything else in about Sherlock Holmes is remarkably well done and manages to support a struggling story, let's just hope the sequel is truly worth the cork that was seemingly plugged into this first outing.

7/10