Review: Sherlock Holmes (2009)

[Homer Yen]

"Sherlock Holmes" - More Arty but Less a Sure Lock
by Homer Yen
(c) 2009

Ok, now from these descriptions, guess which famous person I'm talking about.

Clue #1: Expert Pugilist.  Nope, not Manny Pacquiao.
Clue #2: Pensive Thinker.  Nope, not Gandhi.
Clue #3: Cavalier Law Enforcer.  Nope, not James Bond.
Clue #4: Genius.  Nope, not Isaac Newton.

Did you guess Sherlock Holmes?  Me neither!  In this wild rendering of
the super-sleuth, he's all four of those rolled into one and put into
the good-looking body of Robert Downey Jr.  In the opening sequence,
he is joined by his indispensible partner, Dr. Watson (who is put into
the good-looking body of Jude Law) as they deliberately interrupt a
black magic ceremony in progress.  For a pipe-smoking detective and
his sidekick medicine man, these two sure know how to dispense the
beatdowns.

When Hollywood, in 1999, remade "Wild Wild West" with Will Smith and
Kevin Kline, those two seemed totally ill-suited to play the iconic
characters of James West and Artemus Gordon who brought secret-service
cool to mid-to-late 1960s TV.  Hindsight is 20/20, but RDJr and JL
would've made a great pairing for that film.  The amount of brute and
wit that they possess seems more appropriate for an era of cowboys and
Indians.  I'm not sure if Sherlock Holmes belongs in a highly stylized
action-adventure.  I'm sure Sir Authur Conan Doyle is having his
reservations.

Be that as it may, let's get back to the film.  Holmes has a new
mystery on his hands.  A criminal has seemingly risen from the dead.
And a new game is afoot.

Solving the case is by no means easy.  But, the way in which he goes
about it is too neat.  Holmes's power of deductive reasoning is
super-human. And, it's almost as if every piece not only fit
perfectly, but for him, there was a paint-by-numbers palette to help
him along the way.  However, while he displays strong logos and ethos,
his pathos is severely lacking, which allows the film to explore his
human side.  But here, despite his feelings for an old flame and his
casual appreciation for Dr. Watson, the film doesn't allow RDJr to
give any kind of nuanced performance that won over audiences the way
that he did in "Tropic Thunder".

If you had never seen or heard of Sherlock Holmes, then this wouldn't
be a good introductory lesson.  And, if you had never seen an RDJr
film before, you'd be better acquainting yourself through any of his
other films.  What makes this film ok is that the movie knows that
there is a fan base built in and they get enough not to complain.
I've read a few of the novels.  I like RDJr (and Jude Law).  So, it
was ok for me.  I thought that the procedural had its interesting
moments, which reminded me of CSI.  I was grateful when the clues were
revealed to show how all of the dots were connected.  And I suppose
that I'll see the sequel if there is one.   Still, I can't get past
the updated version.  It'd be equally strange watching Bruce Lee
shooting guns.  Call me old-fashioned, but Bruce Lee just isn't the
same in a bang-bang shoot-em-up.

Grade:	B-

S:	0 out of 3
L:	0 out of 3
V:	2 out of 3