Sherlock Holmes of 2009

I became a fan of Sherlock Holmes after watching the Basil Rathbone movies of the 1940s. I have not read any of the books but I feel that I have a sense of what he's about, or at least what he should have been (were he real of course). With that being said, I looked forward to the new film with an open mind. The trailer emphasized the action and the "sexiness" a bit too much, but I could understand why that was. So without further ado....

What I liked first and foremost is that this is not an origin story. The story starts after Holmes and Watson have partnered for some time (how much time is not revealed in the story; at least I didn't pick up on an exact year, but I have only see the movie once) - but even with a lack of the long drawn out introduction to our main characters, You get the sense of who Holmes and Watson are in the first ten minutes which was a must. The world was believable, set in a the late 1800s and let's face it, Holmes needed to be Holmes - wasn't an action star, but was so analytical of his surroundings that it was like he was a genius - which he was for arguments sake. His keen eye for detail and his deductive skills were unmatched, and Robert Downey Jr. performed well. Watson (as performed by Jude Law) was a surprising success, and a welcomed interpretation to what I was used to. Watson is a full rounded character with highs and lows and is more of a ying to the yang in accordance to their original relationship - he's no nonsense, he's a doctor but he's not defenseless, but it does get lured into Holmes shenanigans against his well, but secretly likes it of course.

The plot made you cast some doubt on the kind of world they were living in - and that was it's exact purpose until Holmes put together all of the tricks the Villain Lord Henry Blackwood could throw at the witch weary public. The world was dawning into a new age, which would astound even Holmes.

The Addition of Irene Adler - the female equal to Holmes, needed little introduction and was pulled of superbly. The best this about this movie, I say again, is its ability to introduce a character and know everything we NEED to know in about five to ten minutes. Part of this is the residual effect of being side-by-side with Holmes, and the other half is just good writing.

What kinds rubbed me the wrong way was how over the top some of the situations about half way through the movie, became. The trouble with a film like this it had to satisfy a lot of different audiences in order to be a success, and even with this little glare, it was something I could look past. Some people remark that this film is actually nothing like the novels set before them, but for a modern audience this would be a good introduction to the original material.

Overall this film is worth a look. If you are a hardcore fan of the series, you may or may not like it for the liberties it takes on the material, but if you're looking for a solid product churned out of Hollywood, well, It's elementary.