Sherlock Holmes

As part of the research for the film I'm writing I read some 'Sherlock Holmes' stories. I quite liked them. My expectations for this film were quite low. The talent had nothing to do with it as I was mostly worried that the sophisticated stories would be dumbed down for the mass market.I was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn't happen.

Poor Guy Ritchie has not had much success of late after he had success with his first two films. It seems his marriage to Madonna affected his work. This is his first big budget Hollywood type film and he steps up to the mark really well. As I said my main concern was the story and character would be changed too much. I had nothing to worry about. I have been very surprised at the success of this film in the USA. I found the dialogue in the film to retain its old fashioned, posh quality and yet the Americans have no problem with it. The story is also sufficiently complex and has many interesting turns to keep you involved. Guy also does an excellent job with the action sequences making them fun and exciting. I was also pleased that they were able to present Holmes deductive reasoning in a very visual way.

Robert Downey Jnr. is fast becoming one of the best actors working today. After many years doing small budget stuff he is now establishing himself as the A-list star of action franchises. So you know he is just some average actor. He has proven himself already. Many Holmes purists may not like his take on the character but I thought Robert was excellent. Robert does a great job of playing the lovable hero. It is also nice to see Jude Law in a successful film. He and Robert play off each other really well and have an excellent friendship. Rachel McAdams was a little disappointing but it is not her fault. I kind of felt she had very little to do. She is a great femme fatal. Mark Strong is another role I would like to have seen more of. I really like him as an actor and love seeing him in so many films.

An excellent first film in what I think that will be a very good franchise. We get a nice set up at the end of the film for a sequel that I'm sure will be wonderful as Holmes takes on his greatest nemesis.