Sherlock HolmesDirector: Guy RitchieWriters: Michael Robert Johnson and Anthony PeckhamCast: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Kelly Reilly*** There has been plenty of curiosity and equal concern among fans of the Sherlock Holmes series, ever since news broke that ‘cool’ Guy Ritchie was making a movie on the fictional detective and former bad boy Robert Downey Jr playing the character. Add to that Jude Law. So has the adored British icon and fictional character, plundered and altered to suit the fancies of the big wigs in Hollywood? The answer is yes, but not all of it too badly.This Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) is still the same messy, violin-strumming genius, desperately inactive when unable to find challenging enough cases. But there is a basic difference to this character, which is more Guy Ritchie than anything else. So apart from being the smart, analytical detective, he is a full blown action hero, ready to throw a few punches and kicks. One is witness to this characteristic early in the movie itself when Holmes considers how best to knock down a thug.  The audience goes through his thoughts in slow motion, as he punches, kicks and breaks a few bones, all the while calculating exactly how much damage it would cause and how long it would take to recover. And then the thought is followed with real time action, bereft of the thinking and with all the noise. Here, Holmes is also not a substance abuser, and has discarded his deerstalker hat for a bowler one. And sadly, there are no, “Elementary, my dear Watson” dialogues.And coming to Watson (Jude law), there are a few changes here too. The doctor is as good with his fists as he is with medicine. There is no bumbling spirit in him, that didn’t mind the sometimes patronizing detective. His relationship with Holmes too is more of that between equals, than between sidekick and lead.All this action is perhaps good for luring action-hungry kids who haven’t grown up reading the detective’s exploits. But what really crackles up the screen is the chemistry between Holmes and Watson. There is also Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) and Mary (Kelly Reilly) as the love interests of Holmes and Watson, no doubt to add some colour to the movie as also to dispel any hints of homoerotic attraction between the two (Holmes and James). So Watson, Holmes’ roommate till date, has fallen for Mary, wants to get engaged to her and move in with her. Holmes is of course jealous. And the exchanges that follow throughout the movie are delightful.Both Downey Jr and Law are good, and especially Downey, who brings his characteristic twitchy wit and insouciance to the role. (If you loved him in Iron Man for this, you should watch this one.) Instead of the tall, lean boffin that one imagined while reading Conan Doyle, Downey Jr plays an unshaven, stout, sweaty mess and is convincing to say the least. Downey Jr looks and acts far more promising than even the script allows him.But Sherlock Holmes is essentially all about wit and intelligence, and at the end of the day, all said and done, Guy Ritchie is not such a filmmaker. He makes audiences refer to as ‘cool’ flicks, with good looking shots and cool characters (read Snatch, Lock Stock and Smoking Barrels). And though Holmes in this new avatar does look ‘cool’, the icon was more than just that.    The plot isn’t all that interesting. Set in the London of the 1890s, the film opens with Holmes apprehending Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), a black-magic master, for a series of ritualistic killings. Blackwood is hanged, but he reappears from the dead to take over the country and later the world. However, Holmes and Watson try to foil his plan and yes, solve the case of how a dead Blackwood returned.Watson and Holmes have been repackaged to suit the fancies of action-hungry fans. The movie is entertaining and looks good, and will definitely make some good money. It also looks very franchise-ready what with the movie almost ending in a teaser – suggesting Holmes’s literary arch nemesis Professor Moriarty to become the sequel’s villain. Yes but this Holmes just won’t solve the case; he will break a few of the Professor’s bones and cause a few explosions.

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