Sherlock Holmes
Director: Guy Ritchie
Year Released: 2009
Rating: 3.0
Sherlock Holmes as a ... cage fighter? Auteur Ritchie's sometimes odious stylistic 'flourishes' aside - not to mention some ugly rapid editing - this is an entertaining revamp of the classic characters, with Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law making a rather appealing Holmes and Watson. Purists will probably find it repellent, though the detective elements aren't lost, and the basic formula employed by Arthur Conan Doyle in his stories is hidden beneath the steam-punk exterior and comic bookish tone (it's Downey, not Law, who really plays it tongue-in-cheek). Holmes' ability to deduce oodles of information from seemingly innocent details - soot under the fingernails! ink on the sleeve! - is amusing for the junior sleuth in us all (and a good reminder to pay attention to the details of everyday life).
