Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Very Cool!!!

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

When a string of brutal murders terrorizes London, it doesn't take long for legendary detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his crime- solving partner, Dr. Watson (Jude Law), to find the killer, Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). A devotee of the dark arts, Blackwood has a bigger scheme in mind, and his execution plays right into his plans. The game is afoot when Blackwood seems to rise from the grave, plunging Holmes and Watson into the world of the occult and strange technologies.Extremely entertaining reinterpretation of Sherlock Holmes; characters made believable and likable by Robert Downey, Jr and Jude Law. And the music by Hans Zimmer fit perfect to the fast action scenes in old world London. The two have fantastic buddy chemistry, and their good-natured bickering is a delight. Parents should be aware that this PG-13 film, while very light on offensive language and sexuality (a woman's bare back is seen, as is a man's bare chest in a different scene, and there is one innuendo) does have a good deal of action violence and some blood. Also, the storyline involves the occult, which is displayed as evil and to be combated, but its portrayal may still make some uncomfortable. Sherlock Holmes comes recommended to those who enjoy action films with substance. ---From Yidioo

This is Guy Ritchie's take on 'Sherlock Holmes'. That alone should give you a clear sense of what to expect from this 2009.I think this film's reputation was spoilt slightly by the fact that the bafflingly popular BBC TV series started around this time too, but there are several things to like about this film, in particular a good performance from the always lovely Rachel McAdam's.It's lots of big explosions and fight scenes, and everything really you would expect from a Guy Richie film. It's up to you as a viewer to think whether that's the take you want on the famous detective.I'm no fan of the BBC TV series, but this wasn't much better.

Wow. This story is one of the best mysteries I have ever seen. However, if the clues normally wouldn't add up to you, the editing allows you to see with very little dialogue what Holmes is thinking. Speaking of Holmes, Robert Downey Jr. nails it as Holmes. He has the perfect balance of detective and fighter, just like he did in the books. Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, and Mark Strong all do great as their characters. And the background and green screen really make you feel like you are in Victorian London. The only problem I have with the movie is the use of non-green screen CGI, such as when the boat is destroyed. It, and a few other effects looked fake. But other than that, the movie was great. Also a great job on Hans Zimmer's part for the theme. Not as good as Pirates, but still great. watch this whenever you can.

In older movies (specifically where Holmes is played almost to perfection by Basil Rathbone) Watson comes off as a senility patient in Holmes' care. By the time Jeremy Brett played Holmes to perfection (read the stories) he and his Watson(s) were equal partners. Now Jude Law plays a sensible young Watson with his life together and his wife in hand, while Holmes is reduced to crawling around on the floor.The BAD: Robert Downey Jr is a good actor but he's not playing Holmes. While in private Holmes was not the neatest of men (see Brett) in public he was immaculately dressed, as Victorian gentlemen were. I apologize for saying it, but Downey ought to know something about playing a drug addict; but Holmes was not an addict, he took cocaine and morphine to reduce the ennui when he had no cases to hand. Conversely, when he had a case, he might spend days without eating, sleeping or dressing neatly while thinking. Calling this movie by the name Sherlock Holmes is a misnomer. . . or, rather, let us say Downey is playing a great Victorian detective of the same name.But I'm a weird one. When I first started reading the Holmes stories in the 7th grade, way back in the early 1970s, I never liked Holmes much. I was a great fan of Doctor Watson and, until Brett's Holmeses came along I was disappointed Watson always looked a bit of an idiot (the worst being Stewart Granger's HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES with Bernard Fox as an absolutely brainless Watson).SO . . .The GOOD: Watson. He's young, energetic, masculine. Intelligent and not squeamish, as would be a man who went through Victorian medical schools. Good nerve, good shot, as a military doctor who performed surgery saving lives under fire. He only shacked up with Holmes the way young people today share rooms and houses, because they hadn't gotten their careers going. But Watson has his wife in hand, so he and Holmes won't be two middle aged men living together in a few small rooms.Curiously, Watson met his wife through the real Sherlock Holmes, so that's another indication this is just another man by the same name, since Holmes and Mary Morstan have not yet been introduced.Also GOOD, while so many movies and TV shows have talked about Holmes' abilities at deduction, this is the first time I've ever seen it filmed so the viewer can follow his reasoning. Kudos.OVERALL, an enjoyable romp through Victorian London with the true Dr. Watson and a fellow named Sherlock Holmes. Downey and Law are both good actors who work well together; you believe they're a team. The movie has some very good ideas I haven't seen used before, it's exciting . . . but the fast cutting and execution of clues I think are meant to keep the viewer from getting a step ahead of Holmes by confusion rather than fair play. And while pastiches have often taken on supernatural elements, and in real life Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes' creator, became a wacky spiritualist, Holmes himself told Watson, "The world is big enough for us. Ghosts need not apply." Great movie for Watson fans (like me). But the pendulum has swung from the Rathbone/Bruce era of smart Holmes and dumb Watson; through the Brett area of an equal partnership; to now Watson being letter-perfect and Holmes being a basket case. It's time for the pendulum to swing back a bit.