Sherlock Holmes

Rated PG-13

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “There’s no accounting for taste.” And I suppose that applies in some small way to reviewing movies. Sure, there are some standards that you go by. Is the story compelling? Is it well written? Are the performances of the actors satisfactory? Is it called Die Hard? But for the most part, critics’ opinion of a movie comes from their own taste for it.

All of that to say: For me, Sherlock Holmes is a mixed bag.

I can honestly say that no movie of 2009 had me more excited or filled with anticipation than Guy Ritchie’s interpretation of literature’s most famous detective. After all, how could the sum of Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Holmes, and the director of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels not be? So of course, like the good little fanboy that I am, I got to the theater as quickly as I could to see it.

It doesn’t take a genius on par with Holmes to deduce what this movie is about. Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr. John Watson are presented with a mystery that Scotland Yard can’t solve. They are brought in to help. They solve said mystery in such a way that suitably sets everything up for a potential sequel. So how is this depiction of Holmes any different from the scores of other television and cinematic representations of him from the past? And, perhaps an even better question is, is this movie worth your 10 bucks?

First, it would be impossible to talk about this movie and not talk about its star, Robert Downey, Jr. Since 2007’s Iron Man, Downey has had a career resurgence, once again becoming one of Hollywood’s “it” boys. All of Downey’s charisma and quixotic charm are on full display here, as he portrays Holmes as a brilliant, but somewhat socially challenged, man of action. Buffing up for the role, he also gets to flex some fight scene muscle several times. Both of these things divulge slightly from how the character has been portrayed in the past, and give the character a little bit of what he’s lacked in the past: vulnerability.

Coming with RDJ on the journey is Jude Law as Dr. Watson. While still preserving Watson’s much depicted stuffiness, Law adds in a little more of a personality than we’ve typically seen from Holmes’ companion and, sometimes, narrator. He’s a war veteran who can keep up with Holmes in intellectual crime solving as well as in fist-to-fist brawls. But what’s more important here is that Law, the actor, can keep up with Downey, and provides a perfect yang to his yin.

In fact, it’s really because of Law and Downey’s chemistry together that I enjoyed this movie. During the times I felt a little lost in the story, I could depend on the two leads to guide me back to where I needed to be.

So while there may be times when the story gets a little convoluted, the actors’ performances here are reason enough to plunk down your debit card and buy a ticket.

When not at the movies, Josh Treece can be found ministering to teenagers.