Hey guys, it's me again, the guy who only reviews when he damn well feels like it. Please read this and then say I'm ripping off Yahtzee.
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Sherelock Holmes is a literary mythic hero, a character so long-lasting, so eternal that no single story can possibly encapsulate his essence. Guy Ritchie, however, has done his best with this, his latest work, and in the process created one of the sharpest, slickest, funniest and most stylish movie of the year.
The movie assumes you know who Holmes is--eccentric detective consultant living with his hetero lifemate in 221 Baker's Street in cheery ole London town--and starts off with a frantic chase through the great city's back alleys and seedy underbelly. Establishing its titular hero, his eternal companion Watson, in broad strokes, we see that this movie is exemplifying an underplayed aspect of Holmes' character--that is, his ability to horribly, painfully wreck one's shit.
Yes, the first thing ANYONE noticed about the trailers to this movie was that Holmes had taken a level in bad-ass, and was seen gallantly diving out windows, boxing shirtless in a gambling den, tackling a giant with a maul, and engaging in all manner of kung-fu tomfoolery. My one concern going into this movie was that it might get too caught up in turning Sherelock Holmes into a Victorian-era Chuck Norris and ignore the most essential aspect of any Holmes story--the actual mystery.
Fortunately, that is not the case. The story revolves around a villainous man called Lord Blackwell, played imperiously by Guy Ritchie favorite Mark Strong, an occultist murderer whom Holmes and Watson capture in the film's opening. Exemplifying the distinctly English ability to be both brooding, sophisticated, sinister and smarmy all at once, Strong makes an excellent foil to Watson and Holmes, dominating every scene he's in with a savage, demonic brutality. The story fast-forwards three months, to the day before Blackwell's execution by hanging, where Watson and Holmes are in the midst of dealing with an even worse adversary: room mate drama.
Watson is moving out you see, to live with his lady love, and Holmes is none too pleased, as he feels betrayed by his erstwhile companion, whilst Watson is reluctant to leave behind the life of adventure and mayhem that Holmes naturally generates around himself. The relationship between Holmes and Watson is at the core of the film, and the chemistry between Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law is tighter than than a Victorian corset. Their constant bickering, soulful glances, and snappy conversations make even the most banal of conversations entertaining, and the script is cut tight enough to avoid having their bromance stall the story. Holmes is dragged back onto the case when an old flame of his, Irene Adler (played by the ever-sexy Rachel McAdams) a sultry, seductive master thief whom Holmes considers an intellectual equal, tasks him to find a missing man. The case spirals into chaotic heights as Blackwell apparantly rises from the dead, and drives a murderous trail right into the heart of London's cultural sphere.
The city of London is Guy Ritchie's playground in this movie. There's plenty of sweeping shots of the metropolis in its Victorian heydey, when filth stained the streets and the whole populace was going mad with occultist fever. We see a constant conflict of new industry and scientific discovery and old mysticism and ritual, meshing violently on rain-slicked city streets. For once in a Sherelock Holmes story, we actually see the public effect of his dramatic cases--Blackwell paints himself as a hellish Antichrist, and his theatrical style--alleged black sorcery--drives all of Britain mad with fear.
It's hard to say what makes this movie work. The dialogue is sharp and funny, the case is intriguing and mysterious, and the action is kinetic and powerful. Ritchie matured as a filmmaker long ago, and his mastery of the craft is evident in just about every shot. Each fight scene is filmed uniquely, and his careful camerawork showcase important clues to the greater mystery without being too revealing. However, more important than any of that, this movie invokes the SPIRIT of Sherelock Holmes. At the heart of every Holmes story there's a conflict between reason and logic and blind faith and superstition. Holmes is a pragmatic champion of reason, pulling aside the magician's curtain to reveal the all-too-real mechanisms behind his tricks. This spirit is perfectly preserved in this latest incarnation, and draws heavily from the simple, but elegant mythos behind the character himself. Holmes has been updated to fit the modern era--no big magnifying glass or floppy brown hat this time. This Holmes is a gritty, fast-paced, pseudo-lunatic, a mad scientist in a mad world, and the movie seems far more interested in his tortured genius than anything else.
This threatens to weaken the film's emotional center, the relationship between Holmes and Watson, and at times it almost does so, pushing the line of acceptability but never crossing it. In the end, this is a modern mystery, full of style and substance that both acknowledges the great history behind the character whilst at the same time taking him into the next generation with roaring applause an impeccable wit. Robert Downey Jr has never been better, flipping between a fiending addict to a cultured scholar sometimes in the space of a single sentence. This is THE movie to see this winter, and the finest Sherelock Holmes story in recent memory.
The game is afoot, and the game is good.
Crowning Moment of Awesome:
With so many funny and kick-ass moments throughout the story, I've decided to be a film nerd and pick a serious, and highly cinematic scene. There's a point where Holmes, Watson and Irene Adler are negotiating a series of nefarious traps set by the villain. Escaping one trap after another, they're making their getaway when Watson trips a wire and sets off a massive explosion. For about two minutes, we see the characters desperately trying to escape, being blasted back and forth by tons of explosions, and the music swells. Everything goes slow-mo and we see Holmes desperately trying to save the lives of the two people dearest to him, in a scene where his wit and smarts can only do so much, and for the first time in the film, we seriously begin to doubt whether our heroes will live to see the day. It's a powerful scene, aided by excellent cinematography. Guy Ritchie is a master of slow-mo, which is funny to say, as he doesn't use that much of it in this film...but that's precisely why it is so effective. Zack Snyder uses slow-motion all the time, and it can easily drag a movie's flow down. Ritchie, on the other hand, will use slow-motion only when it would be MOST effective, not when it would merely be effective, and this scene in particular is almost haunting in how good it is, and how much of an emotional impact it carries.
---
Sherelock Holmes is a literary mythic hero, a character so long-lasting, so eternal that no single story can possibly encapsulate his essence. Guy Ritchie, however, has done his best with this, his latest work, and in the process created one of the sharpest, slickest, funniest and most stylish movie of the year.
The movie assumes you know who Holmes is--eccentric detective consultant living with his hetero lifemate in 221 Baker's Street in cheery ole London town--and starts off with a frantic chase through the great city's back alleys and seedy underbelly. Establishing its titular hero, his eternal companion Watson, in broad strokes, we see that this movie is exemplifying an underplayed aspect of Holmes' character--that is, his ability to horribly, painfully wreck one's shit.
Yes, the first thing ANYONE noticed about the trailers to this movie was that Holmes had taken a level in bad-ass, and was seen gallantly diving out windows, boxing shirtless in a gambling den, tackling a giant with a maul, and engaging in all manner of kung-fu tomfoolery. My one concern going into this movie was that it might get too caught up in turning Sherelock Holmes into a Victorian-era Chuck Norris and ignore the most essential aspect of any Holmes story--the actual mystery.
Fortunately, that is not the case. The story revolves around a villainous man called Lord Blackwell, played imperiously by Guy Ritchie favorite Mark Strong, an occultist murderer whom Holmes and Watson capture in the film's opening. Exemplifying the distinctly English ability to be both brooding, sophisticated, sinister and smarmy all at once, Strong makes an excellent foil to Watson and Holmes, dominating every scene he's in with a savage, demonic brutality. The story fast-forwards three months, to the day before Blackwell's execution by hanging, where Watson and Holmes are in the midst of dealing with an even worse adversary: room mate drama.
Watson is moving out you see, to live with his lady love, and Holmes is none too pleased, as he feels betrayed by his erstwhile companion, whilst Watson is reluctant to leave behind the life of adventure and mayhem that Holmes naturally generates around himself. The relationship between Holmes and Watson is at the core of the film, and the chemistry between Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law is tighter than than a Victorian corset. Their constant bickering, soulful glances, and snappy conversations make even the most banal of conversations entertaining, and the script is cut tight enough to avoid having their bromance stall the story. Holmes is dragged back onto the case when an old flame of his, Irene Adler (played by the ever-sexy Rachel McAdams) a sultry, seductive master thief whom Holmes considers an intellectual equal, tasks him to find a missing man. The case spirals into chaotic heights as Blackwell apparantly rises from the dead, and drives a murderous trail right into the heart of London's cultural sphere.
The city of London is Guy Ritchie's playground in this movie. There's plenty of sweeping shots of the metropolis in its Victorian heydey, when filth stained the streets and the whole populace was going mad with occultist fever. We see a constant conflict of new industry and scientific discovery and old mysticism and ritual, meshing violently on rain-slicked city streets. For once in a Sherelock Holmes story, we actually see the public effect of his dramatic cases--Blackwell paints himself as a hellish Antichrist, and his theatrical style--alleged black sorcery--drives all of Britain mad with fear.
It's hard to say what makes this movie work. The dialogue is sharp and funny, the case is intriguing and mysterious, and the action is kinetic and powerful. Ritchie matured as a filmmaker long ago, and his mastery of the craft is evident in just about every shot. Each fight scene is filmed uniquely, and his careful camerawork showcase important clues to the greater mystery without being too revealing. However, more important than any of that, this movie invokes the SPIRIT of Sherelock Holmes. At the heart of every Holmes story there's a conflict between reason and logic and blind faith and superstition. Holmes is a pragmatic champion of reason, pulling aside the magician's curtain to reveal the all-too-real mechanisms behind his tricks. This spirit is perfectly preserved in this latest incarnation, and draws heavily from the simple, but elegant mythos behind the character himself. Holmes has been updated to fit the modern era--no big magnifying glass or floppy brown hat this time. This Holmes is a gritty, fast-paced, pseudo-lunatic, a mad scientist in a mad world, and the movie seems far more interested in his tortured genius than anything else.
This threatens to weaken the film's emotional center, the relationship between Holmes and Watson, and at times it almost does so, pushing the line of acceptability but never crossing it. In the end, this is a modern mystery, full of style and substance that both acknowledges the great history behind the character whilst at the same time taking him into the next generation with roaring applause an impeccable wit. Robert Downey Jr has never been better, flipping between a fiending addict to a cultured scholar sometimes in the space of a single sentence. This is THE movie to see this winter, and the finest Sherelock Holmes story in recent memory.
The game is afoot, and the game is good.
Crowning Moment of Awesome:
With so many funny and kick-ass moments throughout the story, I've decided to be a film nerd and pick a serious, and highly cinematic scene. There's a point where Holmes, Watson and Irene Adler are negotiating a series of nefarious traps set by the villain. Escaping one trap after another, they're making their getaway when Watson trips a wire and sets off a massive explosion. For about two minutes, we see the characters desperately trying to escape, being blasted back and forth by tons of explosions, and the music swells. Everything goes slow-mo and we see Holmes desperately trying to save the lives of the two people dearest to him, in a scene where his wit and smarts can only do so much, and for the first time in the film, we seriously begin to doubt whether our heroes will live to see the day. It's a powerful scene, aided by excellent cinematography. Guy Ritchie is a master of slow-mo, which is funny to say, as he doesn't use that much of it in this film...but that's precisely why it is so effective. Zack Snyder uses slow-motion all the time, and it can easily drag a movie's flow down. Ritchie, on the other hand, will use slow-motion only when it would be MOST effective, not when it would merely be effective, and this scene in particular is almost haunting in how good it is, and how much of an emotional impact it carries.
