Sherlock Holmes (2009)

RATING: B

The only character I can think of who may have had more iterations of themselves in the past decade than Spider-Man is... Sherlock Holmes. We have this movie franchise. We have Benedict Cumberbatch's rendition. We have that "Elementary" show. There's another movie coming out later this year that's supposedly a more comedic rendition. And there's another movie that happened recently that was more under the radar. The Cumberbatch version has become the most well known. And while there are some great performances in that show as well, this version holds up pretty good. That is, if you like the idea of a more action-hero version of Sherlock Holmes. 

This version takes place still in the 1890s--with Robert Downey Jr as the famous detective, and with Jude Law as Dr. Watson. By the events of this movie, the two have been working together for apparently some time (so no "origin story" here). And in this version, both Sherlock and Watson have the ability to actually physically take down bad guys. Sherlock himself is able to use his deductive reasoning abilities often to predict how a fight will go and thus win it before it even starts--which only happens twice here, but is totally awesome. Pretty much any action scene here in this movie is pretty thrilling due to stylish direction from Guy Ritchie. 

What isn't quite as awesome is the bad guy... and his plot. We're given Lord Blackwood, who isn't exactly a name even book fans will be familiar with. This guy has a thing for... ritual murders. Yup, he's into the occult. And as a matter of fact, we even get to see an entire secret society that believes in supernatural magic... for some reason. (Spoiler alert: this is still the real world.) And while their ultimate goals are kind of interesting, Blackwood's plan and his actions are quite convoluted. And really, the whole idea of supernatural magic (real or not) being involved in a Holmes movie doesn't work as well as some of this movie's other ideas. 

As kind of oddball and forgettable as the villain and his plot is, much of the rest of this is still pretty enjoyable. As mentioned before, the action is quite fun. Some of the dialogue and wordplay is clever too, though you might have to be paying attention for that. The chemistry between the two lead actors is good, and Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong also do well in their roles (even if the latter is playing a forgettable character, he still has the presence). Hans Zimmer also delivers a unique soundtrack. 

This version of Sherlock Holmes is not without its issues. The pacing might be a little inconsistent for some. But it's still often pretty enjoyable and shows a lot of promise; it's clear here that this would've been even better if we had a decent villain/villainous plot. It's still worth a spin, though. At this point in time some people may be reluctant to see Sherlock as anyone other than Benedict Cumberbatch, but this version stands on its own just fine for the most part.