What You Should Have Seen #8

Okay, this movie has a few things in its favor before I even begin it: I think I’m developing a bit of a man-crush on Robert Downey, Jr., and if I can judge his ability by only three movies (Snatch, RocknRolla and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), Guy Ritchie is an awesome director.

As for Sherlock Holmes, the character, I am blissfully ignorant of him. Anything I think I might know was gleaned from random holodeck episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I do think that Downey, Jr. and Jude Law will make a better team than Data and Geordi did.

I loved the bits where Holmes planned out his mode of attack. We got to see it in slow motion as it was being explained, then WHAM! Holmes strikes and the foe is down. What a nice effect. I’m glad that it wasn’t overused, but I would have liked to see it used just a tad bit more. Did we only see it twice? Three times? It was a great way to slowly illustrate his thought process during a span of only a few moments.

I actually found the story quite secondary to the superb acting by everyone involved. After he went on to own the role of Tony Stark in Iron Man, I decided I’d watch Downey, Jr. in just about anything. You can see similarities between Holmes and Stark, but Downey, Jr. isn’t just rehashing his (arguable) comeback role with a British accent.

Rachel McAdams was beautiful and wonderful as a strong female counterpoint to Holmes. And Jude Law, who has seemed to spend more time in the tabloids lately than on screen, did a wonderful job as Watson, Holmes’ best friend and far-from-inferior partner. I look forward to seeing him next in Repo Men.

Unless you’re totally oblivious to how Hollywood operates and you decided to leave right before the last 10 minutes or so of the movie, you’ll realize that a sequel is in the works. Reports have already circulated that Ritchie cancelled other projects (Lobo, another comic book property, from what I’ve read) to fast-track the sequel, so we should get some more Holmes on the big screen next year. If it’s as good as this offering, then I can’t wait.