Sherlock Holmes (2009)

I went and saw the Sherlock Holmes movie yesterday, and I must say, it was quite entertaining. I actually had high expectations for it, considering it's based on a good story and characters and seemed to have some good actors in it. Usually I try not to have high expectations for anything, because the higher they are, the greater the risk that I'll be disappointed. This movie didn't disappoint me at all though, and was everything I thought it would be and in a good way. Lots of humourfilled action that is. Actually some scenes, albeit not bad ones, seemed odd considering it's a movie about Sherlock Holmes (like some fight scenes), one of whom I don't know much about, but I don't think he ran around and kicked everyones ass all the time. That was before I saw the titles rolling after the ending and I found out Guy Ritchie had directed it. The whole movie, choice of scenes, dialogue, effects, characters... everything, makes sense if you've seen any of Guy Ritchies previous movies. Sherlock Holmes is alot like Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, but revolving slightly around a detective story instead of freak misunderstandings and mistakes.

Like I said, I don't know much about the Sherlock Holmes character, since I haven't read any of the books (shame on me). I don't know much more than Dr.Watson being his side kick and I think I've heard from somewhere that Holmes was a drug addict? Ritchie has chosen to portray him as a man with a slightly autistic personality. That is everything being about him, having a disturbed need of interpreting every little detail around him and not being able to let go of a thought once it enters his head. While I don't know if this is blasphemous against the original character, it still works very well in the movie. Robert Downing Jr. does the part as Sherlock Holmes marvelously (I love most characters he does actually). And although I've never been a fan of Jude Law (he seems like a cold fish to me) he has risen somewhat in my ranks by playing Dr Watson the way he does. They both fit perfectly in their roles and together. There are a little less interesting side-characters than what's usual for a Ritchie-movie, but I don't mind him keeping it mostly around the two main characters, since they do such a good job at keeping things interesting.

The plot is ok, nothing too fancy and definitely nothing like Lock Stock... If you're after an advanced and serious thriller this is probably nothing for you (I don't think anyone has gotten the impression that this movie is any kind of serious though). There is a decent detective story buried behind all the flashy scenes (flashy in a good way) but this movie is carried by the great acting, the dynamics between characters (another trademark of Ritchies) and some awesome screenplay. The tempo is high all the way to the end, cool, funny and crazy scenes roll by without much break. If you've seen any of Ritchies other movies (another example being Snatch) you know what I'm talking about. If you liked those you will have a very good time with this one. I even think it deserves going to the movies for (although the ticket prices are becoming quite crazy in sweden...).