Sherlock Holmes

By Clint Morris

‘’Harry Potter’’ may sit at the kids table, and Sherlock Holmes may be seated on the ever-so-alluring ‘adult’ table, but they’re both partaking in the same dish.

Tonally and thematically, the “Harry Potter” flicks and director Guy Ritchie’s filmatic take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s eighteenth-century sleuth aren’t dissimilar. Both are set in the real world, but feature lead characters that wouldn’t be out of place in another. Both feature villains who play with the dark arts – something our leads don’t necessarily approve of, but will partake in it if it’s crucial to their mission. Both are famous for their “intellectual prowess”. And both are happy to stop for a laugh and smooch between solving cases (Not to say ‘’Sherlock’’ takes itself half as seriously as the ‘’Potter’’ films. In fact, the film pretty much plays it for laughs all the way through).

Ritchie’s film, like Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” and Martin Campbell’s “Casino Royale”, offers the film series a much needed facelift (the last “Sherlock Holmes” movie I remember seeing at the theatre was the 80s blunder “Without a Clue”, with Michael Caine as Holmes, and Ben Kingsley as Watson) – and it’s mostly a success…. but not necessarily because of a super-tight, imaginative script or whiz-bang direction. In fact, both the script and the direction leave a lot to be desired.

Here’s all you need to know : Robert Downey Jr is the bohemian freelance detective; Jude Law is his straight-laced but dependable friend and partner, Dr. John Watson. Their latest case? track down the villainous Blackwood (seen recently in Ritchie’s “RocknRolla”) who has ‘risen from the grave’ to take out the members of an underground organization that Holmes has – no surprise – infiltrating. Joining in on the hunt for Blackwood is green-eyed bandit Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), the only woman ever to have bested Holmes and who has maintained a tempestuous relationship with the detective.

You wouldn’t know this is a Guy Ritchie film (in fact, the person who attended the screening with me was shocked to see Ritchie’s name listed as director at the end of the movie!). None of his trademarks (well, maybe the slow-mo fight sequence resembles something you’ll find in an earlier film of his; and the colour palette’s not unlike the one used in his last pic, “RocknRolla”) are here. And most of the energy you’ll find in his previous films has been exercised in favour of a pace that resembles, well, a learner driver – one minute he’s pushing hard down on the brakes, speeding things up, the next he’s slowing right up… for no reason at all. That’s probably a problem with the fun but forgettable script by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg, but also Ritchie’s reluctance to get on the floor and show us those moves he’s known for.

But Madonna’s former beau seems unsure not only about the pace, but a lot of the film – he’s obviously been told to restrain himself by the studio – or give them something along the lines of Downey Jr’s “Iron Man”, and honestly, this does play more like a superhero movie (which is likely why Kinberg, who wrote “X-Men” and “Mr & Mrs Smith” was hired) than a crime thriller – and it’s a pity. With the king of British crime cinema behind the Nikon, this should’ve been a very exciting, very ‘different’ take on Holmes, but instead it’s simply a mostly enjoyable camp romp from a crowd that’s seemingly hired someone they’re ostensibly a little afraid of! Why hire a handcuffed Ritchie, when the studio could’ve gotten the expectedly-cheaper Steve Miner or Ted Kotcheff to do the same job? Did Ritchie actively pitch for the job, wanting to prove to the big wigs that he’s capable of helming these large-scale blockbuster types? Or did Joel Silver force the filmmaker into a two-film deal when he agreed to produce “RocknRolla” a couple of years back? Either way, Ritchie’s pretty much wasting his time here.

Having said that, this is still a fun film – and if you don’t head into it expecting to see your typically brilliant Guy Ritchie movie, then you’ll likely have a blast. And the film will likely please both purists and newcomers to the world of the 221b inhabitant, too. It is faithful to its legendary source material – the mystery is well thought out, the roles of Holmes and Watson are pretty much what we know and expect (well, everything but the “It’s elementary, dear Watson” line made it into the movie)- but it offers something extra for those who mightn’t otherwise be interested in a Holmes movie – like high-flying stunts, numerous fight scenes, some cheeky humour, and an element of the supernatural.

It sounds like there’s a lot in the film, doesn’t it? A mystery with supernatural elements, fight scenes, camp humour, romance and superheroes? Well, there is. But that might also be its cause of unhurried crumble – the film should’ve stuck to the one solid tone, instead of playing with several, because you’re never quite sure what type of film you’re watching.

Still, with fabulous turns by Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, and Mark Strong supporting him, Downey Jr’s first adventure as Sherlock Holmes is still a success – let’s just hope Warner don’t retain Ritchie’s services for the sequel, not if they don’t plan on letting him off the leash.

Extras

A smorgasbord of featurettes can be found on the 2-disc special edition.