Sherlock Holmes

Summary: Sherlock Holmes, along with his partner Dr. John Watson, must battle the evil and newly resurrected from the dead Lord Blackwood. A war of brains and muscle is waged in order to save London from ultimate destruction.

Story (B+): Well written and interesting. It doesn’t take an idiot to follow the story but don’t think you can text and watch at the same time.

Action (B+): Very good fight scenes. Holmes is a calculating fighter as he is a detective. He quickly observes his opponents weaknesses and abuses them like a 5th grader picking on a 3rd grader.

Acting & Dialogue (A): The film has strong dialogue that keeps the story moving. Downey has a solid English accent. Speaking in an English accent is no easy feat. If you think I’m wrong watch American born actress Maria Bello in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. She replaced Rachel Weiz’s character. I dare you to sit through it entirely and not want cut your ears off…I DARE YOU!

Set Design (A-): Very authentic. It does look like 19th Century London. This is refreshing since we live in the age of CGI and in many cases it can take away from a movie. If you don’t know what I’m talking about watch Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. You’ll be disgusted, especially if you a true Indiana Jones fan.

Sex Appeal (5): The movie is not really about T & A or love. There is a romantic relationship between Downey and Rachael McAdams’ character but it doesn’t dominate the story.

Director (A): Guy Ritchie’s direction of the cast was great, especially, the casting of Mark Strong as the villain (he’s great in Body of Lies). I was very happy to see that he incorporated his signature touch, the slow motion fight sequence, which is always very cool. Holmes along with his last film, RocknRolla, definitely made up for 2002’s Swept Away remake, where he casted his then wife Madonna. If you can sit through that you deserve a street named after yourself.

Sherlock Holmes: A-