Robert Downey Jr. shines as the famous detective in this Guy Ritchie film
| Sherlock Holmes | | | | | Directed by Guy Ritchie. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, Robert Maillet, Geraldine James, Kelly Reilly, William Houston, Hans Matheson, James Fox, William Hope, Clive Russell, Oran Gurel, David Garrick. Written by Michael Robert Johnson and Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg and Lionel Wigram, from characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. | | | | |
The (awful) trailers for Guy Ritchie´s Sherlock Holmes were packed with explosions, fisticuffs, and a wink-wink ‘tude that seemed to recall Wild Wild West. This isn´t your father´s Holmes, who has gone through countless onscreen adventures since the dawn of cinema, and was defined by Basil Rathbone, a deerstalker cap and a meerschaum pipe.
Nor is this version particularly faithful to Arthur Conan Doyle, though certainly, some of the themes here that weren´t present in previous cinematic incarnations - the brawling, the drug abuse (though alcohol seems to have replaced cocaine) - can be traced back to the original stories.
No, this is precisely the kind of Hollywood blockbuster that advance materials have suggested, but, here´s the surprise: it ain´t bad at all. As long as you can accept it on its own terms. It´s a tightly woven, fluidly directed piece, devoid of almost all of the director´s usual indulgences; for that, it´s possibly Ritchie´s best film, and his return to cinematic consciousness after a nearly decade-long lull. I was shocked at how much fun I had with this movie.
Sherlock begins with Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Watson (Jude Law) interrupting a ritual murder attempted by the snarling Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). It´s a nice scene, but the duo operate mostly by brute force, a little thinking-man´s action detail thrown in to save face. They may as well be Batman and Robin; if this puts you off, forget about the rest of the film.
Blackwood is convicted of a series of ritual murders and sentenced to death; before he´s hanged, however, he promises Holmes that this is only the beginning, and Sherlock will be powerless to prevent future events. Sure enough, shortly after Watson declares him dead and Blackwood is entombed, he apparently rises from the grave to continue his reign of terror.
Holmes is on the case. Which involves a secret order, hidden laboratories, a French giant, a “ginger midget” (these were less politically correct times) and yes, a number of nicely choreographed action scenes, including one at a shipyard and a climax atop Tower Bridge, still under construction and conveniently featuring a precarious drop in between two halves.
Ultimately, this Holmes comes across more Dan Brown - The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons - than Arthur Conan Doyle, but at least, on that level, it´s done right: with a straight-enough face that allows us to almost accept all the preposterousness, minus without the heavy-handedness that would drain away all the fun (and did in Ron Howard´s screen version of Da Vinci).
Subplots involve Watson´s attempted estrangement from Holmes in order to be with his future fiancé, Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly); Holmes´ relationship with Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), who is also looking into the strange goings-on for a shadowed mystery man, and Holmes´ back-and-forth with local authority Inspector Lestrade (nicely played by Eddie Marsan).
So this Holmes is a good-enough Summer blockbuster ported over to a Winter release, but there´s one thing that makes it nearly great: Downey Jr. in the title role, fully embracing the character with a wink and a nudge but also a diehard conviction that makes this interpretation of the character - after countless others - exceptionally vivid and empathetic, warts and all. He´s as good here as he was as Tony Stark (and Holmes is about as good as Iron Man), and these two performances have turned an unlikely Robert Downey Jr. into, perhaps, the biggest star Hollywood right now.
Other casting, particularly in the smaller roles, is uniformly fine; Marsan is a standout as Lestrade, and only McAdams feels out of place in the Victorian London setting, which is so grimy you can almost taste it, and sometimes oppressively filmed in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio by cinematographer Philippe Rousselot.
Next best thing to Downey Jr.: Hans Zimmer´s twangy, Ennio Morricone-ish Western/Horror score, which continually pumps life into the proceedings. Absolutely wonderful.
Just make sure to take this Holmes for what it is, which is better than you could reasonably hope to get from a Sherlock Holmes movie produced by Joel Silver and directed by Guy Ritchie. For the traditional detective, there´s always the wartime Rathbone films, the more recent Jeremy Brett TV miniseries, and the best Holmes of them all - and this isn´t a jaded critic´s recommendation, but a truly great series of films - the 80s Russian TV productions directed by Igor Maslennikov and starring Vasili Livanov.
Note: there are few lines in French that are subtitled only in Czech on local screens.
***
Also opening: the US animated feature Planet 51 (showtimes | IMDb), which is dubbed in Czech for local release.
And: this week welcomes the films of this year's Project 100, a yearly project that brings a handful of classic (and contemporary) films into art cinemas throughout the Czech Republic. This year's films are Howard Hawks' The Big Sleep, Juraj Jakubisko's Birds, Orphans and Fools, Hal Ashby's Harold and Maude, Herbert Ross's Play it Again, Sam, Aki Kaurismäki's I Hired a Contract Killer, Béla Tarr's The Man from London, Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon, and Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank. You can check them out in local cinemas throughout the year; for more info, visit www.projekt100.cz.
Review Archive
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15.12.11: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ★★★
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29.9.11: Friends with Benefits ★★½ | Abduction ★
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22.9.11: Midnight in Paris ★★★½ | Colombiana ★★½ | Shark Night 3D ★½
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25.8.11: Cowboys & Aliens ★★
18.8.11: Conan the Barbarian ★★ | Green Lantern ★★½ | Win Win ★★★½ | Womb ★½
11.8.11: Rise of the Planet of the Apes ★★★ | The Lincoln Lawyer ★★★
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28.7.11: Cars 2 ★★½ | Jane Eyre ★★★½ | Bad Teacher ★½ | The Resident ★★
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14.7.11: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ★★★½ | Submarine ★★★½
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30.6.11: Transformers: Dark of the Moon ★½
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2.6.11: X-Men: First Class ★★★½
26.5.11: Melancholia ★★★★
19.5.11: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ★★½
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16.9.10: The Karate Kid | Going the Distance
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26.8.10: Grown Ups
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17.6.10: Toy Story 3 | The A-Team | From Paris with Love | The Back-up Plan
10.6.10: The Ghost Writer
3.6.10: Sex and the City 2 | Green Zone
27.5.10: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | Brooklyn's Finest | Precious
20.5.10: Hot Tub Time Machine
13.5.10: Robin Hood | Whatever Works
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29.4.10: Iron Man 2 | The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans | The Road
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1.4.10: Moon | The Men Who Stare at Goats | Everybody's Fine
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4.2.10: Capitalism: A Love Story | Brothers | The Box | Did You Hear About the Morgans?
28.1.10: Up in the Air | The Fourth Kind | New York, I Love You
21.1.10: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | It's Complicated | Black Dynamite
14.1.10: Sherlock Holmes
7.1.10: Fame
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10.12.09: Spread
3.12.09: Zombieland | A Perfect Getaway
26.11.09: The Twilight Saga: New Moon | Antichrist
19.11.09: Paranormal Activity | Law Abiding Citizen | The Time Traveller's Wife
12.11.09: 2012
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22.10.09: Fifty Dead Men Walking, Saw VI
15.10.09: The Brothers Bloom, The Ugly Truth, The Final Destination
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1.10.09: Julie & Julia, Hunger
24.9.09: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Gamer, Night of the Living Dead 3D
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27.8.09: Inglourious Basterds, Taking Woodstock, The Proposal
20.8.09: Up, Two Lovers
13.8.09: G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra
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30.7.09: The Boat That Rocked, Away We Go, Knowing
23.7.09: Crank: High Voltage, Bronson, The Accidental Husband
16.7.09: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Limits of Control
9.7.09: Public Enemies, The Wrestler
2.7.09: Fighting
25.6.09: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
18.6.09: The Hangover, Drag Me to Hell, Zack and Miri Make a Porno
11.6.09: Coraline, The Secret of Moonacre
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28.5.09: State of Play, Bottle Shock, New in Town
21.5.09: The Last House on the Left
14.5.09: Angels & Demons
7.5.09: Star Trek, Duplicity, 17 Again
30.4.09: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, My Bloody Valentine
23.4.09: Synecdoche, New York, The Reader, Friday the 13th
16.4.09: Gran Torino, Defiance, Hotel for Dogs, Confessions of a Shopaholic
9.4.09: The Visitor, Happy-Go-Lucky
2.4.09: Fast & Furious, Bride Wars
19.3.09: He's Just Not That Into You, Battle in Seattle, Sex Drive, The Unborn
12.3.09: Seven Pounds, Marley & Me
5.3.09: Watchmen, Doubt
26.2.09: Slumdog Millionaire, The Duchess, The Pink Panther 2
19.2.09: Frost/Nixon, The Spirit, Transporter 3, City of Ember, Bolt
12.2.09: Valkyrie, Milk
5.2.09: The Tale of Despereaux, Bedtime Stories
29.1.09: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road
22.1.09: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Traitor
15.1.09: Burn After Reading, Yes Man, Che: Part One, My Best Friend's Girl
8.1.09: Changeling
2.1.09: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
25.12.08: Australia
11.12.08: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Four Christmases, Paranoid Park, Make It Happen
4.12.08: Bangkok Dangerous, High School Musical 3: Senior Year
27.11.08: Twilight, Body of Lies
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23.10.08: Vicki Christina Barcelona, The Forbidden Kingdom
16.10.08: Nightwatching, Taken, Juno
9.10.08: Elegy, Mirrors
2.10.08: Eagle Eye, Disaster Movie
25.9.08: 2 Days in Paris
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04.9.08: Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Journey to the Center of the Earth
28.8.08: You Don't Mess with the Zohan
21.8.08: Funny Games U.S.
14.8.08: WALL•E, Meet Dave, Then She Found Me, The Orphanage
7.8.08: The Dark Knight, Mamma Mia!
31.7.08: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
24.7.08: The X-Files: I Want to Believe
17.7.08: The Incredible Hulk, Shine a Light, Be Kind Rewind, Nim's Island, Made of Honor
10.7.08: Get Smart
3.7.08: Kung Fu Panda, Hancock
26.6.08: Wanted
19.6.08: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Forgetting Sarah Marshall
12.6.08: The Happening, My Blueberry Nights
5.6.08: Sex and the City, Penelope
29.5.08: 21, Untraceable
22.5.08: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
15.5.08: What Happens in Vegas
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28.2.08: No Country for Old Men, Step Up 2 the Streets
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14.2.08: National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Charlie Wilsons War, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
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31.1.08: Atonement
24.1.08: The Darjeeling Limited, Cloverfield
17.1.08: Michael Clayton, Lust, Caution, Love in the Time of Cholera
10.1.08: Eastern Promises, I Am Legend
3.1.08: American Gangster
20.12.07: P.S. I Love You
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29.11.07: Across the Universe, Beowolf, Balls of Fury, Halloween
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25.10.07: Once, Superbad, Feast of Love, The Seeker
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11.10.07: The Kingdom, 1408, Becoming Jane, Snow Cake
4.10.07: Knocked Up
27.9.07: Stardust, Grindhouse, Gympl
20.9.07: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Evening, Disturbia
13.9.07: Ratatouille, The Hoax, No Reservations
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30.8.07: The Bourne Ultimatum, Irina Palm
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2.8.07: Fracture, Venus, Next
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28.6.07: Live Free or Die Hard
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31.5.07: Premonition, Black Book
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17.5.07: The Number 23
10.5.07: Renaissance, The Painted Veil, Wild Hogs, Epic Movie
3.5.07: Spider-Man 3, Copying Beethoven, Sherrybaby
26.4.07: Shooter, The Reaping
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12.4.07: The Hill Have Eyes II, Norbit
5.4.07: Stranger Than Fiction, Notes on a Scandal, Meet the Robinsons, Red Road, Blood & Chocolate
29.3.07: Flags of our Fathers
22.3.07: 300, Sketches of Frank Gehry, Black Christmas
15.3.07: Ghost Rider, Music and Lyrics, Feast, Employee of the Month
8.3.07: The Fountain
1.3.07: Rocky Balboa, School for Scoundrels
22.2.07: Little Children, Babel, Dreamgirls, Hannibal Rising, The Darwin Awards
15.2.07: Smokin Aces, The Queen
8.2.07: The Last King of Scotland, Pursuit of Happyness, and Crank
Czech Films
Alois Nebel (2.5.12)
Rodina je základ státu (3.4.12)
V peřině (14.2.12)
Odcházení (Leaving) (16.1.12)
Tajemství hradu v Karpatech (26.10.11)
Katka (1.9.2011)
Rozmarné léto (Capricious Summer) (20.8.2011)
Kuky se vrací (25.7.2011)
Přežít svůj život (Surviving Life) (23.6.2011)
Občanský průkaz (23.5.2011)
Pouta (22.3.2011)
Kristián (8.2.2011)
Kajínek (20.12.2010)
Protektor (15.11.2010)
Kinoautomat (22.6.2009)
Na půdě (In the Attic) (7.4.2009)
Bathory (11.7.2008)
Domov (Home) (7.2.2008)
Občan Havel (31.1.2008)
Gympl (1.10.2007)
Medvídek (22.9.2007)
I Served the King of England (19.1.2007)
Pravidla lži (29.11.2006)
Grandhotel (16.10.2006)
Hezké chvilky bez záruky (24.9.2006)
Kráska v nesnázích (10.9.2006)
Šílení (28.12.2005)
Jason Pirodsky can be reached at jason@expats.cz
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