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Director Guy Richie
has updated Sherlock
Holmes and taken him
into the 21st
Century. Instead of
the gentleman who
was neat and well…
gentlemanly, you get
Robert Downey Jr.
playing the famous
detective as a messy
nutcase who finds
obvious joy in
triumph and the
dramatic. Guy
Richie’s take on the
movie isn’t just
interesting, it’s
enjoyable too. Fans
of the original
material and the
‘correct’ proper
Holmes aren’t going
to enjoy this movie
as much as the
younger generation
but there’s no
doubting that
Sherlock
Holmes
was a two hour
thrill ride filled
with laughs and
suspense along the
way.
Lord Blackwell is an
evil dude. Holmes
finds him and
captures him once
but then Blackwell
busts out of jail
and sets in motion a
terrible sequence of
events. He threatens
to change the
landscape of the
world with his
secret organization
and it’s up to
Holmes, and of
course Watson to
stop him. It’s not
just Holmes and
Watson along for the
adventure this time
though. Racheael
McAdams plays
Holmes’ crazy love
interest in the
movie Irene Adler
and she provides
just as much action
as Watson and
Holmes.
The pairing of
Watson and Holmes is
what stands out
about this movie the
most the first time
through. Robert
Downey Jr. is great
as Holmes. From his
work as Tony Stark
in Ironman we know
he can pull off the
lavish and dramatic
quite well and he
proves that even
more here as Holmes.
Jude Law as Watson
is really the
casting surprise of
the movie and really
the best decision
that could have been
made. Downey Jr. and
Law’s performances
were both great and
they fed off each
other very well
whenever they were
on the screen
together. It was a
solid choice for a
pairing and one that
couldn’t have worked
out any better. As
for McAdams, she was
just okay as Irene,
she wasn’t over the
top dramatic and she
didn’t overdo things
so she passes. They
probably could have
gotten somebody
better but she did a
good enough job.
Guy Richie’s
direction of the
classic character
also stands out.
Everything is dark
and moody. A lot
like a Tim Burton
movie but not overly
so. The sets and the
models were grungy
and dirty a lot like
you’d imagine London
to be in that time
period. He made some
great choices in
almost every aspect
to create a great
pace and a great
looking movie.
With all of the
bonus features on
Sherlock
Holmes
you get some pretty
typical stuff but
you also get the
great director
feature that Warner
Bros. has done with
movies like The
Watchmen. You watch
the movie with the
director and they go
through different
parts of the movie.
It's like a visual
commentary and it's
fun to watch.
Packaging is the
standard quality
packaging from
Warner Bros. on it's
Blu-Ray titles. You
get a Digital Copy
of the movie along
with a DVD and a Blu-Ray
copy of the movie.
This
unique approach to
Sherlock
Holmes
is slightly
controversial. Fans
of the classic
character might not
like some of
Richie’s changes to
bring him into the
21st
Century but the
character is largely
more appealing to
the mainstream due
to the changes. Law
and Downey Jr. were
great as Watson and
Holmes and Warner
Bros. has a nice
series of movies
with Sherlock Holmes
if they choose to go
that route.
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