It was only a matter of time before the crime solving duo of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson came to the big screen. The tandem was previously featured in a TV series in the 1980’s after being a hit book series, but since then they have not had much exposure.
Robert Downey Jr. plays Sherlock Holmes, and his version of the character is more hard-hitting than Holmes as he is portrayed in the TV series or books. Holmes frequently gets in boxing matches and, like the books, is always falling into trouble. Downey is good at portraying the rough and tumble side of Holmes and is surprisingly good at showing his crime solving side.
Dr. Watson (Jude Law) is the faithful side-kick like always. He continually follows Holmes to help him solve cases, even risking his relationship with his future wife to get Holmes out of trouble.
In this movie, the gang is after Lord Blackwood who performs weird human sacrifice rituals. Watson and Holmes save the day and Blackwood is executed- or so they believe. Watson declares him dead, but soon rumors swirl around that Blackwood is back from the dead. Holmes and Watson need to find Blackwood and stop the string of murders that Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) and his gang are carrying out.
Sherlock Holmes is long (more than two hours), but is worth it for the most part. The movie drags on a little bit during the middle, but is highly entertaining as a whole. Both Holmes and Watson are well played, especially Watson, who is very faithful, but at the same time skeptical about Holmes latest little schemes.
I give Sherlock Holmes 3 stars out of 4. The action and acting are both great, but in order to receive four stars the entire movie has to be thrilling. The movie was not great throughout, but overall I really liked it. The plot with Lord Blackwood was very interesting and the twists with Holmes boxing were also very fun and original. The film is rated PG-13, but I think it is good for the entire family to see because there is just some violence and action. The public’s response to this movie was great: it has grossed 300 million dollars as of January 14. All this means is that Sherlock Holmes is back and as good as ever.
8/10
