Sherlock Holmes
Ritchie has become known for his slightly off-beat films (when not helming catastrophic vanity projects), but there are few hints of anything outside of mainstream filmmaking in Sherlock Holmes.

More than one eyebrow was raised when it was announced that Guy Ritchie would be directing a Hollywood-backed ‘re-boot’ of Sherlock Holmes. When Robert Downey Jr. was confirmed as taking the title role, the project looked doomed for ridiculousness. Guy Ritchie had produced more than one titanic failure in his time and casting an American as Sherlock Holmes, the ultimate Englishman, seemed a bridge too far.

The first trailer released confirmed some people’s worst fears as Sherlock Holmes was set to be a silly, bloated Hollywood action film using the Holmes character merely as a conceit in the endless quest to make big things go boom.

And boom they go, but it’s oh so much fun. Yes it’s bloated, yes it’s preposterous in the extreme but this is two hours of expertly-crafted enjoyment. Ritchie has become known for his slightly off-beat films (when not helming catastrophic vanity projects), but there are few hints of anything outside of mainstream filmmaking in Sherlock Holmes.

Sometimes films are there to tell important stories, or to explore aspects of the human condition. Sometimes they are just there to make us laugh; keep us on edge and to have fun blowing up sets of Victorian London. Sherlock Holmes succeeds absolutely on this basis. It has a ‘production line’ feel to it that high-budget, Hollywood-produced films often do, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed the fact that Warner Brothers developed the project and oversaw the production, only handing it over to Ritchie at the last possible moment is probably why it is so successful. Sherlock Holmes told through the prism of Ritchie’s Lock Stock world would have surely been a drab affair indeed.

Robert Downey Jr. plays Holmes with a savant-like camp that is constantly amusing. Some of the most compelling moments come with the slow-motion analysis of Holmes’ thought processes. At the film’s heart, however, is the love-story between Holmes and Watson, now reinterpreted for a modern audience. They have a symbiotic relationship that is based on complete dependence on each other and a shared failure of exploits with the opposite sex. Some commentators have talked about homo-erotic undertones, but this is not what is going on here. It is love, but of the platonic variety.  Jude Law’s performance is pitch-perfect and, watching the chemistry between the two title characters, it’s hard to imagine that Warner Brothers will leave it here. Sherlock Holmes is quite clearly the first instalment of a franchise.

Mark Strong deserves a mention as he plays the evil Lord Blackwood and does so with a presence and theatrical flare that is perfect for the role. Strong has shown himself time and again to be a very serious performer and hopefully Holmes will ensure he gets the recognition he deserves.

The plot is silly of course, but it provides a fun setup and does maintain the action without ever stepping outside the constraints that it sets itself. However, there’s little point recounting it in detail here. Just go and see it, bring the family and have a good time. I defy you not to.