Sherlock Holmes

I must admit - as a film student this is poor - but this is the ONE new movie I saw over the festive period, not only that but two days before we returned to the course.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect - Granted, I had heard rave reviews but I knew very little about the character of Sherlock Holmes, plus the fact that it had been directed by Guy Ritchie (not famed for his amazing movies - having been nominated for two Razzie awards for worst script and worst director - the latter of which, he won), however I let neither of these put me off. I went with several friends, two of which are avid Robert Downey Jr fans, which as you can guess, somewhat influenced our choice of film - it was either going to be Holmes or Avatar (unfortunately in 2D).

I was pleassantly surprised to be exiting the cinema, 128 minutes later, very satisfied. The film had flown by - I had been fully engrossed the entire time.

I found the story extremely engaging - it had the right amount of mystery and suspense, balanced with heart-pounding action and yet pulled off some very soft, touching and emotional scenes. The dialogue worked very well - playing, not too heavily, on Holmes' eccentric nature while also portraying the strong and intellectual character within. Watson could have been written and played as a weak sidekick, naive of Holmes' genius and trying to contradict him with science, however he appeared strong, powerful and intelligent while still encompassing a subtle vulnerability so as not to relinquish Holmes' position as leader.

It was also incredible, visually. It portrayed 19th century London beautifully - realistic yet with a sense of fantasy also. The setting felt, not so much a backdrop, but an engaged and interactive environment in which all the characters worked within.

The film was very fast, this pace kept the film moving dramtically - almost every moment revealing something new, either about the plot or about a character. Small humorous moments lightened the films essentially dark and mysterious tone - this was brought about by Holmes' dog whom he experiments on but who Holmes' repeatedly says - "doesn't mind".

If there is one thing I didn't like quite so much about the film - it would have been Rachel McAdams' performance. I don't think it was necissarily bad - I just felt it was nothing special - a lot more could have been done with her character. Probably partially to do with the writing however I just feel that it was one element that let the film down a little.

All in all, I think this is a movie worth seeing. I don't think it will go down in cinema history as a classic but it is a truly enjoyable watch!