SHERLOCK HOLMES
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Robert Downey Jnr, Jude Law, Mark Strong, Rachel McAdams
Roadshow

Review: Suzan Ryan

I must admit tomixed feelings about this film; I wanted it to be good. Really good. But I feared that it could be very bad—another remake of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) by director Guy Ritchie, who has yet to stray from the proven fast-cut formula he employed so successfully in that film (which is somewhat understandable when you consider the abominable Swept Away (2002) as Ritchie's only other attempt at diversity).

While I had no reservations that Downey Jnr would deliver an excellent and witty performance as Sherlock Holmes, when it came to picturing Jude Law as Dr Watson, I expected a bearable-yet-wooden performance. At best.

And what of the decision to cast Rachel McAdams as female lead, the sassy Irene Adler? From what I've seen of Ms McAdams' work, she failed to impress as the spunky journalist in State of Play (2009), relying on dimpled smiles and harried gestures to define her character, and was given only limited range as the good girl targeted by the bad guy in Red Eye (2005).

However, casting Mark Strong as Holmes' nemesis, the evil Lord Blackwood, is a welcome treat, following his riveting performance in Ridley Scott's Body of Lies (2009), in which he played the genteel-yet-uncompromising boss of the Jordanian secret service, Hani Salaam—outshining the performances of both Russell Crow and Leonardo DiCaprio. No easy feat.

Sherlock Holmes begins with the capture of serial killer and black arts practitioner Lord Blackwood (Strong) by the cocky-yet-camera-shy Holmes (Downey Jnr) and his able assistant Dr. Watson (Law), in what is to be the pair's final case before Watson marries fiance Mary (Kelly Rielly) and returns to working as a doctor.

But when Blackwood returns from the grave and resumes his killing spree, Holmes and a reluctant Watson agree to work with Scotland Yard to locate and apprehend the elusive killer.

Simultaneously sullen and oafish when forced to interact with Watson's fiancée (and contemplate the end of a long and cherished relationship), Holmes hits the bottle, along with plenty of bodies, working out his anger in bare-knuckle boxing fights, where he uses his intellect to disable opponents as effectively as his hands.

And it's in these fight scenes where Guy Ritchie most effectively flexes his directing muscles, providing his trademark slowed-motion-interspersed-with-live action scene-play and character voice-over to invigorate the movie and maintain pace.

There is chemistry between Downey Jnr and Law, providing depth to their characters' banter while simultaneously offering respite from the film's sinister undertones and interesting plot twists.

Sherlock Holmes is a solid, enjoyable, well-made and well written movie. It also marks a watershed moment in the career of Guy Ritchie, who at last—and to our great relief—has graduated and evolved as a director. Well done.

Sherlock Holmes opens in cinemas nationally on December 26.