I didn’t quite know what to expect of Sherlock Holmes (2009, directed by Guy Ritchie). In fact, I hadn’t even seen the trailer yet. But nonetheless I wanted to see what was going to be so elementary in this movie. The movie, based on the books (which I haven’t read) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle chronicles one of the first cases that Holmes (played by Robert Downey Jr) and Watson (played by Jude Law) tackle together. After catching and imprisoning Lord Blackwood (played by Mark Strong) for several murders and practising black magic, the case seems wrapped up. But when Lord Blackwood mysteriously rises from the dead to continue his killing spree, Holmes and Watson dive back into the case, putting both of their lives in grave danger.
What struck me most about the movie was Holmes’s character. He’s very rough around the edges, socially ill-equipped, and doesn’t really fit into society. Sherlock Holmes always seemed more brain to me, but this time around he showed lots of brawn as well. I’m not sure how closely this corresponds to the books, though, since I haven’t read any of them. But something about the character seemed very familiar. I couldn’t put my finger on it, until my wife mentioned parallels to Gregory House (played by Hugh Laurie), from House MD. And thinking about it, the character of House was quite extensively modeled on the character of Holmes. It will certainly change the way I watch House MD from now on.
I enjoyed Sherlock Holmes, and thought some of the logical connections in the case were done very cleverly. Before watching the movie, I was gonna bet that the film would end with a setup for a sequel. And it did. As the film is concluded, the connection to Professor Moriarty is made, very strongly hinting at a sequel. But don’t wait for that! Go and see Sherlock Holmes now. If you like detective stories with some good physical action, you’ll find it very entertaining.
