Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed movie character ever according to the Guinness folks and IMDb lends credence to that with 223 entries to date going back as far as 1908 in listing films and TV series featuring that consultant detective. Guy Ritchie must have felt a lot of pressure to bring new life to the role but he’s helped immeasurably by the superb cast featuring a buffed Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and the on again off again Jude law very much on again as Dr. John Watson. We hook up with Holmes on the outs with Watson who is about to end their arrangement as roomies and pursue marriage with Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly). They’ve just sent Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) to the gallows after being condemned for a series of ritual killings but he survives the hangman’s noose. Holmes and Watson find themselves pressed back into service to aid Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), a policeman of questionable ethics, in the fight against a coven of black arts practitioners bent on reinstating the glory of the British Empire for less than noble purposes. Ritchie’s rendering is brilliant not only for the film’s authentic look but more importantly for de-emphasizing the elementary Holmes - and not just by eliminating the trademark Inverness wool cape coat or the deerstalker hat (although Holmes occasionally sports a stylized Trilbury chapeau). Deductive reasoning takes a back seat to Sherlock’s expertise in martial arts and we see an about face on his aversion to women with the usually shadowy Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) taking on a major role both intriguing and quasi-romantic. There’s added irony with no hint of Holmes’ penchant for opiates yet Downey being one of Hollywood’s leading enthusiasts for opium derivatives. Thankfully the director of Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was not obliged to cast Madonna Ciccone as they are no longer married. Reverting to his often staccato editing that made a comeback last year in RocknRolla he’s managed the seemingly impossible feat of making a very old story stand up on strong new legs.