Elementry My Dear...

The buddy flick set in late 1800 England.

That is the new Sherlock Holmes in 7 words. Not that it is bad, far from it, it is a very entertaining movie that hits all the right wickets for modern pop culture.

Quick Take Aways:

• Robert Downing Jr. - He is still on the rise and does a wonderful performance as Holmes. When first cast I was a bit apprehensive, but he pulled the accent out well and his slightly neurotic (OK, really neurotic) take on Holmes was interesting and entertaining. I really liked the director's approach with the character where he digested a scene, typically fights, but would have liked to have seen that break out with other items.
• Jude Law - As the 'retired' military surgeon, this Doctor Watson was a bit younger then those portrayed in the past, but so was Holmes for that matter. Law is a great actor, with a wide range and he did well in this film. My biggest complaint was the limp. An injury suffered in the line of duty mysteriously disappeared in fight and chase scenes, but reemerged in conversation/dialog intense scenes. Huh?
• The 'Buddy Flick' - Holmes and Watson played off of each other extremely well, and the interjection of Watson's future wife played to the conflict of the buddies being ripped apart.
• The Action - Hey, it is the modern pop world that we live in and if we don't have the prerequisite number of explosions and bloody fight scenes, then it ain't going to cut. Come on! I think some story got left on the floor, I'm not going to spoil, but a few spots could have used an additional scene to help tie things together a bit better, especially at the end.
• The Big Professor M - Professor Moriarty plays a very minor, behind the scenes, wait for the sequel roll. He is there, but he isn't the force to be addressed in this film, but I'll be you my stake in the Baker Street Irregulars that we see him in his full glory next time.
• The 'Tag' - Didn't happen. I sat through the credits, expecting to see a sneak peak of Moriarty or some other thing, but it didn't happen. :( Oh well.

In the end I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it for the theater for its full large screen effect. I give it 202 out of 221B Baker Streets.

jp

Watson