Movie review - Sherlock Holmes

This is a movie based on the famous Sherlock Holmes books by Arthur Conan Doyle. But directed by Guy Ritchie, which makes for high expectations. These are certainly met. The story is geniously put together, complex, moving at a fast pace, but in the end everything comes together.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law make an interesting duo as respectively Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. They certainly have great chemistry and are paired very well. There is off course also a lady in this movie, Irene Adler, a clever thief. She is played by Rachel McAdams. She is one of my favourite actresses and she plays her part well. She has a certain power over Holmes, and the chemistry between Downey Jr. and McAdams is palpable.

The story revolves around a series of mysterious killings of women by some type of cult. Holmes finds the culprit and he is sentenced to death. This however does not end the mystery in any way. As Holmes fights his way through London and drugs, he and Watson try to get to the bottom of it all. But is Irene helping them or is she purposely distracting them. The movie moves fast and you certainly have to keep your attention on what happens on the screen. Not everything seems to make sense, and sometimes Holmes jumps to conclusions that are impossible to understand. But in the end it is all explained, and you will get what was going on. Definitely a movie you would have to see several times, to pick up on all the details though. But since it is a great movie this is no punishment whatsoever.

The setting is against a dark Victorian-style London. The people are poor, and dirty. The town is dark because of the industrial smoke. It creates a great atmosphere of mystery and darkness. The darkness of the crimes, and the darkness of the eccentric Sherlock Holmes. The only colour in it seems to be provided by Irene Adler.

Plenty of action is going on, as you would expect of a movie by Guy Ritchie. But the fight scenes are original and fun to watch. At times the characters move quick as lightning, at other times the fights are in slow motion, as to explain how to inflict the most damage in the most effective way. And all this with a slight touch of the Ritchie humor.

All in all a great movie for everyone. Enough action and mystery for the men, and Rachel McAdams brings a bit of femininity to the story for the women. Great date movie, as both sexes will enjoy this, and it leaves lots to discuss afterwards.