Chick 1 says:

Merry Christmas to me!  Sherlock Holmes is out & it stars 2 very attractive men.  Hee, hee.

The Basics:  I’m assuming you know Sherlock from all the books, movies, and slew of cultural references (my favorite being “No s**t, Sherlock.”).  Here Guy Ritchie directs the latest update on the Victorian sleuth with Robert Downey Jr in the lead and Jude Law as Watson.

What I Liked:  Naturally the cast is great.  Downey and Law both deliver as the too-smart-for-his-own-good sleuth and his faithful sidekick.  The two have great chemistry and this movie is as much buddy flick as mystery.  The supporting cast does fine, especially Eddie Marsan as Lestrade.  I was afraid that Guy Ritchie’s direction would be a distraction but I thought his style worked well with this update.  There is more action than traditionally in the books but thanks to the script, I absolutely believed that Holmes and Watson both could handle the tough stuff.  And on that note, no more bumbling Watson.  Ritchie returns to Watson’s original characterization as a veteran and former athlete.  It was also nice seeing Holmes without the deerstalker.

What I Didn’t Like:  The pace was a bit slow in spots, mostly in the 3rd act.  And if they’re planning on building a franchise, did they have to start off with a case involving “the end of things as we know them”, world domination, so forth?  Feels like they’ve got no where to go.  And they also pulled the ol’ “it’s in the trailer but it’s not in the movie” ploy.

Bottom Line:  Sleuthing, action, explosions, friendly bickering, romance.  All the right ingredients, mixed properly for a delicious time at the theater.

P.S. One of my goals for this blog is to improve and grow in my writing.  I wasn’t quite able to clearly express my thoughts about this film.  But I have found a quote, from a much more experienced reviewer that sums it up perfectly.  “The film is solid.  It’s entertaining.  But it’s not transcendent the way you’d like a 21st century Sherlock Holmes film to be.” – Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times.

P.S.S.  After a second viewing, I decided I wanted to give a shout out to actor William Houston who holds his own with Downey in the small and likable role of Constable Clark or “Clarky”.