Sherlock Holmes

2/4

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly

Rated PG-13 Intense Sequences of Violence and Action, Some Startling Images and a Scene of Suggestive Material

There’s no law against changing the details, or even the genre of a story to suit a new vision.  It happens all the time.  Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies are much grimmer and set more firmly in reality than the live action comic books of the first Caped Crusader franchise.  Michael Mann turned the 80s crime show “Miami Vice” into a grim and stylized thriller starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx.  Even Kenneth Branagh turned “Love’s Labors Lost” into a Broadway-ish musical.  So on the basis of switching genres, I can’t criticize Guy Ritchie for turning the largely cerebral Sherlock Holmes into an action hero of the 2000’s.  What I can criticize, however, is that the end result isn’t fun.  The sequel did rectify this problem, to an extent at least.

In the early 2000’s, Guy Ritchie was the British wunderkind sent over from Britain.  Known for his unique takes on the British crime movies as displayed in “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch” (not to mention his marriage to Madonna), Ritchie stayed under the radar after the disastrous reception of his film “Swept Away.”  Still, the thought of Guy Ritchie doing a Sherlock Holmes movie sent fanboys into orgasmic glee, but the result is surprisingly lackluster.

Holmes, as we learn, is a bad boy misfit who is not pleased that his longtime partner Dr. Watson (Law) is moving out and getting married to Mary Morstan (a criminally underused Reilly).  It’s as good of a time as ever, since they have just captured a ruthless serial killer with magical powers named Lord Blackwood (Strong).  Blackwood executed by hanging, but it isn’t long before he has resurfaced, alive and well.  Now, it’s up to Holmes, Watson and a lovely thief, Irene Adler (McAdams), to find Blackwood and stop him before he sets in motion a plan to rule the world.

To its credit, Ritchie and his screenwriters remember that Holmes isn’t Superman.  The film focuses on his puzzle solving through logic, and that is to the film’s benefit.  There’s nothing more irritating than a beloved character turned into a generic action hero simply because the studios want to play to the lowest common denominator.

The performances are adequate, but nothing more.  Downey is his usual reliable self, but quite frankly, this is something he could do in his sleep.  Still, Downey is one of those rare actors who, even in the easiest role, is still fun to watch.  Law ends his run of lazy performances, although he’s given almost nothing to do; Watson is relegated to being a sounding board and comic relief.  McAdams is cute, although that’s really all that’s required of her in this role (and she has a nice nude scene from behind).  Mark Strong is wasted, however.  An actor of considerable talent and range, Strong was already showing signs of being typecast in “Sherlock Holmes.”  He’s essentially playing the same bad character he would go on to play in “Kick Ass,” although with less energy.

The problem is that Ritchie tries to force the character into a comic book-like movie, something which he does not fit.  With a less generic vision and CGI that didn’t constantly call attention to itself, it might have worked, but the look of the film reminded me of “Van Helsing,” which was a fun but very corny B-movie.  It’s a major comedown for the much beloved character by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The film is also far too long.  This is a story that could be told in about 90 minutes, but Ritchie stretches it out to over two hours.  Part of the reason is that he uses so many visual cues to retell what had just happened.  Admittedly, these are helpful, but some of the visual flourishes and subplots are extraneous, and reek of a studio’s attempts to reach a foreign audience (not to mention an excuse for Ritchie to show off).

To be honest, this wasn’t a particularly good start to a franchise.  Fortunately, it’s not really necessary to see this one before you see the sequel.