Sherlock Holmes (2009)

I'm sure all of you have just been teetering on the edges of your seats to know what I thought about the much-anticipated Sherlock Holmes movie. Well, the fact that if it weren't for the ice currently making my driveway into a skating rink I would be going to see it a second time should give you a clue.

But first, the trailers which were on beforehand.

First of all, thanks be to all that is good in the world: there's a new Orange ad. Murray warned us that we'd get sick of the last one what with our constant cinema-going but I hadn't quite expected to be able to sing along. I'll enjoy this brief window of novelty for as long as possible, but before the month is out I expect I'll be sick of this one too.

But then, ladies and gentlemen, there came on the most wonderful thing possible: the trailer for Iron Man 2. It alone could silence the entire audience! It looks good. Really good. Well, as good as you can tell from a trailer; but it did it's job - I am now very excited and, more importantly, so are the people who haven't been following any scraps of news they can find (example: my sister). It was also very savvy to put it on before RDJ's other big movie, Sherlock Holmes.

I was pretty scared about this film to be honest. High expectations and literally months of anticipation can set a person up for a crushing disappointment, and I half thought that it would be unable to live up to the hype (speaking of which, I may do a seperate blog on the marketing campaign because it was pretty brilliant). But I put my fears aside and on Boxing Day me and my sister went to out nearest cinema to give it a go (the fact that it was an Odeon and thus, for the first time in months, I had to pay, shows my dedication).

And WOW. It managed to live up to what those trailers promised!

First of all, Robert Downey Jr... What an actor! Playing the loveable bastard genius is a tricky act, but he balances it perfectly, managing not to undermine the bastard aspects (thus making it ring false and trite) but instead luring you in with his brilliance (and Holmes is brilliant) and his sheer personal magnetism. There's a very nice touch (which occurs right at the start, so no fears about spoilers) where he analyses in slow-mo how exactly he's going to physically best his opponents, then does it. It's an excellent compromise between the canonical Holmes' dependence on his mind and the audience's desire for action. I don't mind the changes by the way, but that could just be because I'd only read a couple of stories.

Next must be Watson. Ah, dear Watson... I'm not an absolute Jude Law fan - he's been bad easily as many times as he's been good. But I chalk this one up for the Good Column: he's wonderfully active, Watson holding his own alongside Holmes. And I love their relationship, full of banter and co-dependency. It's perfect.

I love the way the setting is realised. It's grotty and muddy, but still pretty cool - it's like a steampunk vision of Victorian London, and in my books that's no bad thing. There was a bad moment when I thought it was going in an undesirable direction but thankfully my fears were in vain - it stays true to the spirit of the source. Easily, it's Guy Richie's best film. (But... I really dislike all ofhis other films, so that means nothing.)

So this was a rare case when the hype lived up to the fact: it's an exciting action adventure mystery with fun banter and great characters. A perfect winter blockbuster! All I could want more would be some insane Iron Man / Sherlock Holmes crossover. Think of it: two Robert Downey Jrs. I'm a genius.

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