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Sherlock Holmes is an action mystery film released in 2009, based on the Sherlock Holmes prose stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film was directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. The screenplay by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg was developed from a story by Lionel Wigram and Michael Robert Johnson. Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law portray Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, respectively. Holmes investigates a series of murders, apparently connected to occult rituals. Lord Blackwood is the mysterious villain. The story culminates with a confrontation on top of Tower Bridge, still under construction.

The film went on general release in the United States on December 25, 2009, and on December 26, 2009, in the UK, Ireland, and the Pacific.

In 1891 London, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) race to prevent the ritual murder of a girl by Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). They arrive just in time to stop him, Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan) and the police arriving just after to arrest Blackwood.

Three months later, Holmes is without a new case and has become bored. Watson prepares to leave 221B Baker Street to establish his own business, and intends to marry Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly). It is the day of Blackwood’s execution and he requests Holmes’ presence. He warns Holmes that three more deaths will occur after his execution that will change the very nature of their world. Blackwood is executed by hanging, and declared dead by Dr. Watson.

Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) then appears on the scene — a master criminal who has twice outsmarted Holmes, and who, as the result, is the only one he has ever cared for. She asks Holmes to pursue a case of a missing red-haired midget by the name of Reordan, at the same time also letting Holmes know she has divorced her latest husband and inviting him to resume their old love affair. After her departure, Holmes disguises himself and follows, in order to discover the identity of her employer. The man is concealed by shadow and Holmes can only surmise that he is a professor from traces of chalk on his jacket.

Three days after Blackwood’s execution, his tomb is found shattered from the inside out, and an eyewitness reports seeing Blackwood walking away. Holmes, Watson, and Inspector Lestrade find Blackwood’s coffin contains the body of the red-haired midget. Holmes following clues from a pocket watch on the body, travels to the home of Reordan. There, they discover several experiments implying an attempt to merge science with magic. They fight three thugs: two arsonists sent to destroy the evidence, and the giant, French-speaking Dredger (Robert Maillet). After being chased into a shipyard, Dredger escapes, nearly killing Holmes in the process and sinking a ship under construction. This lands Holmes and Watson in jail for property damage.

Watson is soon released on bail by Miss Morstan. Holmes is left in jail, until he is later taken to the Temple of the Four Orders, an occult-dabbling secret society. The leaders, Sir Thomas (James Fox) and Lord Coward (Hans Matheson), reveal Blackwood was a former member and plead for Holmes to help stop him. Holmes declines their generous offers of reward but continues to pursue the case on his own terms. Holmes deduces that Blackwood is the son of Sir Thomas, a secret which Sir Thomas confirms.

Two senior members of the order, Sir Thomas and Ambassador Standish, are killed by Blackwood, through apparently magical means, allowing Blackwood to assume control of the order. He plans to use the Order’s power to push for Britain to retake the United States, weakened by civil war. Lord Coward has been in league with Blackwood all along, Blackwood orders him to issue a warrant for Holmes’ arrest.

Holmes and Watson follow clues to an industrial slaughterhouse, where they are taunted by Blackwood and forced to rescue Adler from a deadly conveyor belt trap. Watson chases after Blackwood but is caught by a tripwire, setting off an explosion; Watson warns them but is badly injured himself. Holmes learns he is wanted by the police and goes into hiding. He realizes that Blackwood is conducting a ritual based on the sphinx, with the three murdered men tied to three of the mythical creature’s animal constituents: man, ox, and eagle. Holmes deduces the fourth symbol the lion, represents the British Parliament. Holmes allows Lestrade to capture and bring him to the Home Secretary. Overconfident, Lord Coward reveals Blackwood’s plan for to wipe out House of Lords. Holmes escapes, diving out the window into the river Thames, and is rescued by Watson and Adler in a boat.

The three enter the sewers beneath Parliament and discover a complex machine, based on the midget’s experiments, with a radio-controller trigger to release a cyanide derivative into the Parliament chambers. They fight off Blackwood’s men, and dislodge the cyanide cylinders from the machine. Adler grabs the cylinders and races away, followed by Holmes.

Blackwood and Coward realize their plan has failed and attempt to escape. Blackwood manages to get away but Coward is unable to leave. Holmes confronts Adler on top of Tower Bridge, still under construction, she has nowhere to run. Blackwood arrives, knocking Adler to a lower platform, where she lies unconscious. Holmes tricks Blackwood into becoming entangled in the ropes and chains, and Blackwood is left hanging precariously over the Thames while Holmes recounts that all of Blackwood’s “mystical” acts were simply applications of science and trickery. Holmes intends for Blackwood to stand trial and be appropriately executed but a loose beam falls off the rafter supports, causing Blackwood to plummet off the bridge and be hanged by the chains.

Holmes helps Adler recover, though he handcuffs her. She explains that her employer is “Professor Moriarty”, warning Holmes that Moriarty “is just as brilliant as he is, and infinitely more devious”. Holmes replies, “We’ll see about that.” Holmes drops the key to the cuffs in Adler’s shirt and leaves her, returning to Watson. The police arrive to report a dead officer found near Blackwood’s device, and Holmes deduces that chasing Adler and fighting Blackwood was a diversion by Moriarty, who used the distraction to take a key component of Blackwood’s remote control device from the machine. Holmes accepts the case.
(www.wikipedia.org)

The Internet Movie Database

Greetings again from the darkness. Great literature seldom makes for great cinema. The mediums are vastly different. However great literature, in the right hands, can make for very entertaining cinema. Such is the case with Guy Ritchie’s interpretation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s greatest character.

Mr. Ritchie provides us with quite a departure from the Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce “Holmes and Watson”. Here we get dazzling special effects and near super-human feats and stunts. Another twist is that this Holmes here is no meticulous, fastidious bore in real life. In fact, he lives more like a frat boy or rock star – replete with trashed room and bouts of isolation.

What is not missing is Holmes’ world class attention to detail. The story here is multi-layered and actually very interesting, if not a bit high-minded and high-concept. The still-under-construction Tower Bridge plays a role in the film and the bleakness and gray of London is captured perfectly.

Of course, I won’t reveal any details of the story other than to say the “good” guys are out to get a real bad guy here … wonderfully played by the always solid Mark Strong, who may or may not be dead. That always makes for an interesting case! Support from Rachel McAdams and Eddie Marsan are fine, but Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law are the real stars as Holmes and Watson. As odd as it seems, they really do have a buddy factor that works well on screen. Downey’s physicality has always set him apart from many contemporary actors … he moves like a dancer and fights like a champion. Jude Law is often too pretty-boy for me, but he really does a nice job of capturing the reluctant sidekick with complimentary skills.

This is a BIG movie! It is made to be a rollicking good time with tons of popcorn munched. Smaller kids will not be able to follow the story, but anyone who has read a Holmes story (and isn’t against a little artistic license) should see the film. It is extremely entertaining and fun to watch.
David Ferguson

Opening on Christmas Day, Sherlock Holmes showed itself to be worthy as a blockbuster hit. To be frank, I came with an expectation that the movie would be terrible. But I was proved wrong.

Sherlock Holmes seems to be like the new James Bond: gritty, hardcore, and always ready for a good fight. He is not only intellectually sophisticated but also quite a brawler. Watson his side kick who is his loyal friend is always there to save his dear partner from harm’s way. Irene plays the notorious thief and lover of Mr. Holmes. She is a wily character who keeps the reader guessing her motives.

The cinematography of the movie was special because it showed parts of the film as Holmes’ future logical deductions. The movie also used the tradition method of explaining the Sherlock Holmes deductions after given the facts and clues.

Sherlock Holmes’ evil nemesis play his part well. There were many humorous antics and displays of ingenious traps. The other minor characters also added to the crude humor and laughter.

Overall, this movie deserves to be watched. It comes with sparkles of spontaneity and fun. And it may even leave you wanting a sequel! Give it a try!
OnFireJC

NY Times

Early in “Sherlock Holmes” — and also again, later on — the famous sleuth demonstrates his ratiocinative powers in a way undreamed of by his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle. Observing a thug standing guard over a horrible crime in a dimly lighted church, Holmes calculates just how to surprise the man, disarm him and beat him senseless. The audience follows his thought process through slow-motion pre-enactment, observing how the laws of anatomy and physics will be used to snap bones, gouge organs and turn flesh into pulp. Then, having seen it diagramed once on screen, we see it all again, with more noise, in real time. Elementary!

Doyle’s Holmes, who arrived in Victorian pop culture in 1887 (with the publication of “A Study in Scarlet”), has adapted since then to changes in taste and entertainment technology. He was a proto-superhero, amenable to all kinds of elaboration and variation, and even a measure of mockery, as long as the basics of the brand were respected. For most of his existence he has lived at 221B Baker Street, smoking a pipe, playing the violin and sticking faithfully to bachelorhood and his belief in the functional elegance of the deerstalker hat.

But Holmes has never been much for physical violence, and the chief innovation of this new, franchise-ready incarnation, directed by Guy Ritchie and played by Robert Downey Jr., is that he is, in addition to everything else, a brawling, head-butting, fist-in-the-gut, knee-in-the-groin action hero.
full review

Rotten Tomatoes
Give 68% for tomatometer

This Sherlock Holmes refuses to take himself seriously. Brilliant, because it allows to RDJ and Ritchie to let rip with their non-traditionalist revamp. Not so great because super-sleuthing loses out to bone-crunching. Either way, the brio is infectious. Matt Mueller, Total Film

The views of Victorian London are just as seductive as Downey Jr, who exudes an aura of troubled genius, though that’s all the information you’re likely to retain, as there’s rarely a moment to think between all the fights and explosions. Stella Papamichael, Radio Times

For the most part, quirky British filmmaker Guy Ritchie has managed to take the character out of mothballs without desecrating Conan Doyle’s original vision. Dan Lybarger, eFilmCritic.com

Amazon.com

Guy Ritchie (Snatch, RocknRolla) attempts to reinvent one of the world’s most iconic literary figures as an action hero in this brawny, visually arresting period adventure. Robert Downey Jr. is an intriguing choice for the Great Detective, and if he occasionally murmurs his lines a pitch or two out of hearing range, his trademark bristling energy and off-kilter humor do much to sell Ritchie’s notion of Holmes. Jude Law is equally well-equipped as a more active Dr. Watson–he’s closer to Robert Duvall’s vigorous portrayal in The Seven Per-Cent Solution than to Nigel Bruce–and together, they make for an engaging team. Too bad the plot they’re thrust into is such a mess–a bustling and disorganized flurry of martial arts, black magic, and overwhelming set pieces centered around Mark Strong’s Crowley-esque cult leader (no Professor Moriarty, he), who returns from the grave to exact revenge. Downey and Law’s amped-up Holmes and Watson are built for the challenge of riding this roller coaster with the audience; however, Rachel McAdams as Holmes’s love interest, Irene Adler (here a markedly different character than the one in Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Scandal in Bohemia”), and Kelly Reilly as Mary Morstan, the future Mrs. Watson, are cast to the wind in the wake of Ritchie’s hurricane pace. One can imagine this not sitting well with ardent Sherlockians; all others may find this Sherlock Holmes marvelous if calorie-free popcorn entertainment, with the CGI rendering of Victorian-era London particularly appealing eye candy. –Paul Gaita

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