Sherlock Holmes

Pretty much everyone's suspicions about Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (2009) is confirmed: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's pipe-smoking, uncommonly-intuitive super-sleuth has been reimagined as a modern action hero in the mould of Batman, James Bond or Jack Sparrow, with the requisite gadgets, fight scenes, exorbitant special effects, tough gal love interest, and world domination plot to deal with. It's best to take the film on its own lightweight terms, rather than as a faithful adaptation of Doyle.

Eccentric but brilliant private eye Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his sidekick Dr. Watson (Jude Law) track down the devious Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), a nobleman whose interest in Satanism and the occult has turned to murder. Blackwood is hanged for murder, but it soon appears that Blackwood has somehow risen from the dead, leading his shadowy, Hellfire Club-style society in a plan using magic and sleight-of-hand to take over the world. Holmes, Watson, Scotland Yard Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan) and devious conwoman Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) must team up to put a stop to Blackwood's designs - which will result in the gassing of Parliament and, theoretically, ruling the world.

Sherlock Holmes has relatively few surprises to offer, however well-executed they are. The characters are straightforwardly colorful, and the plot fairly predictable (in generalities if not specifics), the humor semi-clever pseudo-wit so often employed in this genre. Still, the film is mostly engaging, even if it digresses overmuch in its exploration of Holmes' eccentricities (boxing, training flies with a violin, poisoning Watson's dog). Director Ritchie handles the film's action scenes well, particularly Holmes' lengthy shipyard confrontation with a hulking, French-speaking muscleman (Oran Gurel), with a prominent though not overbearing use of CGI. Hans Zimmer provides a wonderfully lively, period-invoking score, and the movie certainly looks like Victorian London, making it an effective enough bit of period escapism.

Robert Downey Jr. gives a predictably colorful, hammy performance, making Sherlock out to be Jack Sparrow, PI mixed with Hugh Laurie's House. It's a fun performance and certainly carries the film well-enough but it's nothing original - especially since Downey played a similar character in 2008's Iron Man. Jude Law is fine as Watson, but Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls) is a stiff and uninteresting love interest. Mark Strong has fun chewing scenery as Holmes's nemesis, and it's always nice to see James Fox (A Passage to India), even if he shows up just long enough to get knocked off.

If you take Sherlock Holmes as a fun popcorn film, it's enjoyable enough. Just don't expect any great sophistication, artistry or wit, and you should be fine.