Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law have great chemistry very good movie

As a Sherlock Holmes enthusiast I love this film

This was Guy Ritchie’s very successful venture into the Sherlock Holmes franchise. The movie featured Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes, Jude Law as Dr. John Watson, Mark Strong as the protagonist Lord Henry Blackwood, and Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler who was a thief who worked for Professor Moriarty, but also had a relationship with Holmes. The movie played on the occult as Lord Blackwood claimed he came back from the dead and had the backing of a guild of magicians made up of powerful lords in England. He planned to seize power in the country.

Ritchie was very stylish with the movie. For instance at the start Holmes is being chased and graphically plans out how he will attack his pursuer through a series of slow motion fight moves. In his earlier movie Snatch he used slow motion in his fight sequences, but now he added to it.

Downey and Law were very good at their roles. Rather than the bumbling Watson of some of the older versions of the duo Law played him straight. Half the time he made excuses for Holmes’ eccentricities, and then argued with him, and then helped him. Downey was great making Holmes a mad scientist. He’d spend time in his office working on all kinds of ridiculous experiments, and then became inspired when he found a case to work on. He was also very witty. They were one of the original odd couples and Downey and Law played that up.

Strong and McAdams were also noteworthy. Strong played the evil genius and McAdams the seductress.

Overall, Sherlock Holmes was a lot of fun and a very worthy addition to the series. There was action, there was intrigue, there was mystery all very well done by Ritchie and the cast.
C

interesting to see societal influence on a classic

It seems that Hollywood is obsessed with reviving old tales with new twists. I should start by saying, if you are a Holmes purist, you probably won't enjoy this movie. Sherlock is depicted ingeniously as ever, but this time he's got a knack for the boxing ring and a bit of a naughty side. Watson has some money management issues, but is otherwise the nagging voice of reason that supports Holmes.

In terms of visual appeal, the movie is pretty spectacular. If you, like me, only opt for High Def when a movie really warrants it and stick with DVDs the remainder of the time, I'd recommend going HD with this one.

The soundtrack is a bit... annoying. Holmes is no longer a classical violinist, but like to finger pick his violin... at times to test it's affect on animals. The suspense generating fingerpicking of the violin plays heavily into the soundtrack and actually distracted me a time or two from what was happening.

To watch this movie, I had to initially come to terms with the transition in Holmes' character. He is not the Holmes of old. He is a darker, somewhat depraved variation of the beloved sleuth. If you really want to get the full effect of the film, you have to know that going in and open your mind to a new vision of Sherlock Holmes. Once I did this, I started to see the merits of the movie. The characters have a larger than life feel about them, the plot has plenty of suspense and twists, there is an element of the occult, a strong underpinning of science, and some humorous moments as well.

It also, surprisingly had some replay value. The end reveals aspects of the plot I didn't notice on the first run. When I gave it a second watch I noticed considerably more.

My vote- definitely worth a rent. If you like visually appealing movies, detective movies, or something Douglass Preston/Lincoln Childish... you may want to consider purchasing it.

In case you don't feel like waiting for it to ship, it appears that if you purchase it in hard copy you can watch it immediately via Amazon's Video on Demand service between now and when it arrives.

I will qualify my review by first stating that I would NOT be considered a fan of Sherlock Holmes. Other than this movie, I've never watched any of the series on TV, nor do I believe that I have ever read any of the Sherlock Holmes books. Overall, I just found this movie to be very entertaining, with a good story, some good acting, and good special effects. Surprisingly, my 9 year old daughter sat down mid-way through the movie, and stated how much she liked it. So, we went back and watched the whole thing again, and at the end her comment was, "I LOVE THIS MOVIE!" So, we're very much looking forward to watching the sequel in the very near future.

All that said, if you are a hardcore Sherlock Holmes fan, you MAY not enjoy this movie as much as we did. As I said, I am NOT a die hard Sherlock Holmes fan, but I had a couple of friends of mine comment that they didn't really like this movie, but recommended the BBC series instead (also available on Amazon On Demand). So, I have a feeling the movie may stray a bit from the classic Sherlock Holmes. So, I am now also going to check out the BBC series as well, but I wouldn't let those comments dissuade you from checking this movie out.

As a note - this is a movie probably best watched in a dark room with the sound turned up. There are quite a few dark scenes in the movie, and it can be a bit difficult to see in a brightly lit room. In addition, the characters also whisper / talk under their breath more than usual in a movie. So, if you're not prepared for that, you may miss what they're saying (some of which is particularly entertaining), especially with British accents.

I loved it! Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, oh yeah!

This film version of Sherlock Holmes is a prime example of film as an art. From the lively, quick-moving camera work that dances around a mysterious plot, to the beautiful sprinkling of graphic design touches in the titles and end credits – Sherlock Holmes is an artistic expression of film magic. I didn't think I was going to like this film -- but, I loved it.

Sherlock Holmes, in this film version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous fictional detective series, is a deliciously flawed man. How refreshing. If anything I hated about the usual Holmes character was that he was always so stinking perfect. The irony of Holmes desperately trying to stop his longtime sidekick Dr. Watson from marrying while brilliantly solving a criminal crisis is a stiff upper lip hoot. The lightening fast dialogue, plot and camera shots -- well now, you better sit up and pay attention or you're likely to miss something, unlike Sherlock Holmes, who doesn't miss a clue.

This is a fun film and a delightful departure from the usual stoic Sherlock Holmes adaptations. This is not your typical Sherlock Holmes tale -- hurrah!