Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Elementarious!: "Sherlock Holmes"

I'll admit enjoying the trailer for this reinvention ... relaunch ... reboot ... ah, eff it ... new version of the old sleuth. There's Jude Law having some fun! Rachel McAdams is a cutie! And really, who doesn't love Robert Downey Jr. these days?

Downey's bizarro tales seem long gone, and he's always had the acting bonafides. He was the best thing by far in "Less Than Zero." If you haven't seen "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," please stop reading and rent it now. Hell, he was awesome in "Weird Science" and "Back to School!" So yeah, after his ascension to superstardom (via "Iron Man") while still being funny as all hell (in "Tropic Thunder"), Bobby D. gets the benefit of the doubt from me every time.

Our story: Sherlock Holmes (Downey) and Dr. Watson (Law) have just prevented a murder, and the baddie, some Lord named Blackwood (Mark Strong, the best part of "Body of Lies"), is set to hang. And hang he does, except ... darn it if he doesn't stay dead. That sets into motion the Case of the Curious Cadaver, as Holmes tries to figure out what Blackwood is up to. Well, besides killing more people. Complicating matters are (a) Watson's insistence that he be released from the duo to marry a nice lady, and (b) the stubborn appearances of Irene Adler (McAdams), an old flame of Holmes who happens to be his equal in the cleverness department.

It sounds a little thin, but there's enough plot to keep things moving, and really, you're in this for only two things: (1) the back-and-forth between Holmes and Watson, and (2) the BIG REVEAL. On that part, "Sherlock Holmes" succeeds. That's enough to make this entertaining, but definitely not enough to make it great.

Downey and Law are pros, and they make a natural pair in these roles. I confess to having a hard time understanding Downey's accent in a few scenes. But yes, the guy has the whole playful genius thing down, and I appreciated director Guy Ritchie slowing things down here and there to preview how Holmes would disable this bad guy or that one. Law manages the loyal sidekick well, although without more backstory, you did have to wonder why he put up with Holmes' crap so much.

Strong is OK but really doesn't have to act as much as use the low voice and sneer occasionally. McAdams is the weakest of the bunch, miscast as a confidence woman. She was sweet in "Wedding Crashers" and actually believable as a hostage-turned-fighter in "Red Eye." Here, though, I kept thinking we needed Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron or someone else who could pull off dazzling and devilish. Sorry, Miss Notebook, but that ain't you.

In the end, "Holmes" is perfectly nice fun, and worth a big screen viewing for all the rough-and-tumble. At the very least, it will make do if Downey insists on refusing to use his new clout to link up with Anthony Michael Hall and Uma Thurman make the long-awaited sequel to "Johnny Be Good."

1 Comments:

At 12:47 PM, Anonymous slumus lordicus said...

It was good enough that I would go see a sequel, but this is coming from the guy who rushed out to see Crank 2.

 

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