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Amazon.co.uk Review
If you’ve got too many pre-conceptions of just how a Sherlock Holmes movie should pan out, then it’s probably best that you check them in before popping this latest version in your player. Starring Robert Downey Jr. in the title role and accompanied by Jude Law as Watson, this film dispenses with some of the conventions of Holmes, and instead starts turning him into something of a period action hero.
Downey Jr. is more than up to the challenge too. Early scenes in Sherlock Holmes are more Fight Club than sleuth-influenced, with the hand of director Guy Ritchie behind the camera being very clear. But the film soon settles down and starts to have some fun, with the able assistance of Mark Strong and Rachel McAdams, among the supporting cast.
Yet this is Downey Jr.’s show, and he doesn’t waste the opportunity. He’s an engaging leading man at the worst of times, and he’s clearly having a ball here. What’s more, it’s immensely satisfying when his Sherlock Holmes gets down to the business of solving crimes, even though there are some really quite impressive action sequences to work through first.
There are problems, of course. There’s not enough flesh on the bones of some of the characters, and the early part of the film feels very different from the latter stages. But there’s solid groundwork here for the inevitable franchise, and watching Downey Jr. reprise the role of Sherlock Holmes over the next few years should be really quite good fun too. --Jon Foster
DVD Description
On a quest to solve a string of mysterious and brutal murders, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his trusted ally Watson (Jude Law) plunge into a world of dark arts and startling new technologies, where logic, and a good right hook, are the best crime fighting weapons. Explosive action, baffling mystery and astonishing intrigue follow the two in a race to uncover and foil a terrifying plot that threatens to destroy the country. Director Guy Ritchie helms the all-action adventure reintroducing the great detective to the world. Robert Downey Jr. is the new Sherlock Holmes.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
171 of 184 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not your Dad's Sherlock ...,
By Brian Flange "qflestrin" (Penge.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sherlock Holmes [DVD] [2009] (DVD)
This is really a review for the die-hard Sherlock Holmes fans amongst you: I'm afraid I'm a rampaging Sherlock Holmes purist and a devout worshipper of Jeremy Brett's (definitive?) Holmes. So when I heard Guy Ritchie was tackling Holmes, I wasn't too optimistic at first. However, my fears were misplaced and I ended up enjoying this very stylised, rather cheeky take on Holmes and Watson very much indeed. While it sags a little bit around the middle, Ritchie's film plays for most of its running-time like a Conan Doyle story delivered at very high speed, and it really works. Robert Downey Jr. is maybe not the Holmes you expect but almost everything he does and says comes straight from the original stories, and he does a terrific job of inhabiting the mannerisms and foibles of the greatest fictional detective there has ever been. We get a deeply eccentric and moody but nonetheless commanding and heroic Holmes. As other reviewers note, Jude Law does an excellent job. Too many Holmes adaptations go for laughs and make Watson a stooge, but Jude Law gives us a capable and resourceful Watson who's much more than a sidekick or a buffoon. References to a shadowy criminal mastermind hint at a sequel and I for one can't wait. More like this, please.
26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What a surprise!,
By
This review is from: Sherlock Holmes [DVD] [2009] (DVD)
When I heard Guy Ritchie was directing a Sherlock Holmes film I nearly cried. Surely they could have found a decent director to helm the first (and perhaps only) big budget SH film? Like many other reviewers here Jeremy Brett performances remain absolutely definitive for me. Although (to avoid the inevitable comment) I am also a fan of Basil Rathbones performances. In fact on DVD I have more Rathbone than Brett.
Anyway to the film. Well I had to eat my hat, because the film is dam good. Robert Downey Jr is superb as Holmes. Its a different sort of Holmes from the Brett/Rathbone portrayal. Seemingly a little more street savy, but still with the razor sharp mind. Watson is perhaps even better. Its fast-paced, which for todays modern audience it needs to be. The terrible trailer for the film might have led you to believe that it was going to be full of explosions and the usual high-octane stuff that passes for an action film these days, but it seems Mr Ritchie has learnt a lot over the few years. There are still some of his trademark stop-motion tricks, but these seemed appropriate to the scenes they were in. Criticisms:- frankly not many. A little too much obvious CGI. I have no problem with CGI, so long as I can't tell its there! They have certainly left the way open to a 2nd film in the series, which I'm looking forward to. So overall, a really entertaining film, which even the most stubborn Brett/Rathbone fan should give a try.
36 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Original Dynamic Duo!,
By
This review is from: Sherlock Holmes [DVD] [2009] (DVD)
An interesting take on Holmes and Watson, who are both men of action as well as detectives. This sits well with Watson's background as an ex-soldier and is preferable to the bumbling parodies we have seen of him in the older Holmes films. They take risks, look out for each other, and face genuine danger together - a real crime-fighting partnership. This is a good, atmospheric action-packed tale where Holmes is sharp as a knife when on the case, but bored to the point of despair when there's nothing for him to get his teeth into. Robert Downey and Jude Law are a smart pairing. The ever-present menace of the London underworld and the amateurism of a police force that has not yet embraced modern methods is finely judged. I was not entirely convinced by the "masonic" element, or the prizefighting, but it serves its purpose. This film is loads of fun and I recommend it.
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