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SHERLOCK HOLMES |
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I could sum up Guy Ritchie's rendition of "Sherlock Holmes" by simply stating the obvious... this is not your father's (or grandfather's) Sherlock Holmes. Having spent my youth watching every episode and movie of Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes,
to see him as an action hero is actually kind of amusing. If you are going to reintroduce a Victorian Aged
character, why not give him a few upgrades - or in this case a couple of downgrades as well! It does beg me to wonder, what would Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tink of this new Sherlock.. |
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The characteristics that remain are his ability to analyze a situation by looking beyond
the obvious. Sherlock Holmes was the McGiver and Columbo of 19th century England. He saw things that no one
else did and used the powers of deduction to cut down on leg work. He is nearly wealthy in that his household is above the average
Londoners and he lives in a decent neighborhood. He shares his intellect with his com-padre Dr. Watson. Again, this Dr. Watson
(Jude Law) is far from the stuffy, chubby, chuckling portrayed by Nigel Bruce. The upgrades (or downgrades as it were) now have Holmes entertaining himself by slumming it
at local London street fighting bouts. Uh, yes - Ritchie's Holmes is a charter member of the Fight Club. He comes down off his lofty
perch to wallow in filth whilst fighting. He also knows various forms of the martial arts - as does Watson! Moreover, Watson is not the shrinking violet he was in the 1940s adventures... no Jude
Law's Watson has a hot chick for a woman - Kelly Reilly (Mary Morstan). Moreover he plans on marrying Kelly - though Sherlock tries
his best to break it up. |
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Anyway, there has been a rash of ritual murders involving young women so
Sherlock gets involved. Sure enough, using his big giant brain, he deduces when and where the next murder
will take place and stops it just in time; nailing the offender a guy named Lord Blackwell (Mark Strong). Blackwell is sentenced to death and, is pronounced dead by none other than Dr. Watson.
But Blackwell is into black magic and - as he promised before his execution - somehow becomes resurrected to
create havoc again. Meanwhile, a former nemesis slash possible former lover named Irene Adler (Rachel Adams)
comes into the picture. Holmes has a love/hate relationship with her despite the fact that she is a crook. But she possesses a high IQ.
So he gets involved with her in the only part of the film that bogs down. |
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There are chases, plenty of action and good old fashion British humor that will keep you amused during
it's 2+ hour run-time. Yet I couldn't help but get annoyed in that stupid love interest between Sherlock
and Irene. This is what I mean when I refer to wasted scenes. Fortunately it's not too much of a distraction from the mayhem. Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr interact perfectly. They are the new Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. And though folks over 45 may shutter at
the possibility of Sherlock as macho super-dude, it's not as frightful as it sounds. Ritchie pulls it off extremely well. "Sherlock Holmes" is the Holmes of the present and the future. Future? Yup... the elusive Professor Moriarty is lurking in the background! --GEOFFREY BURTON
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