Sherlock Holmes
According to the always-trustworthy Wikipedia, today is Sherlock Holmes's birthday! To celebrate, I've decided to share my thoughts on the recent film.
Despite my qualms, I actually quite enjoyed the movie! I was worried about Robert Downey, Jr. playing Holmes, because I never thought of Holmes as being Mr. Brawny Action Hero, but I was pleasantly surprised. Movie Holmes does indeed kick some serious ass in both bare-knuckle boxing and swordfighting, but Book Holmes is also an excellent prizefighter and swordsman, so there was more basis for Holmes-as-action-hero than I originally thought! And although Robert Downey, Jr. doesn't really look like Holmes, he plays the character extremely well.
The Holmes-Watson relationship was definitely my favorite part of the movie. The two characters were tons of fun to watch, and I loved their constant good-natured bickering. Jude Law made an excellent Watson, in my opinion, and Rachel McAdams was good as spy/sex kitten Irene Adler. I didn't much like her character, but that was probably the fault of the script rather than the actress. Mark Strong was a suitably creepy and evil villain, which was a big shock since I'd only ever seen him as Mr. Knightley. The only part of the movie I didn't particularly like was the overall mystery plot, which concerned an evil secret society that hoped to gain control over the world through magic. It was just too farfetched and campy for my taste, and it didn't seem to be like a normal Sherlock Holmes mystery. Then again, it's been a while since I read the stories, so maybe I'm remembering things incorrectly.
Bottom line: I liked this movie a lot, and I'd definitely recommend it, whether or not you're a fan of Book Holmes. Ultimately, this is a fun, fast-paced, action-adventure flick with some Victorian flavor; if that sounds appealing to you, you'll probably like the movie!