Review of Sherlock Holmes (2011) by Brandon W — 11 Apr 2017

WHAT I LIKED: Handing the keys for the world's greatest detective to Guy Ritchie seemed rather like the kind of thing you'd do after a few too many beers down your local Yorkshire pub, but the final result is an unquestionably fresh and surprisingly brilliant cocktail. Yes in bringing his unique snappy style and losing a touch of lad-ish-ness along the way, Ritchie delivers a film that can actually be best described as mirroring this version of Holmes himself - gritty underneath, and witty and suave on top. Here of course, Holmes mainly gets those traits from Robert Downey Jr, who's brilliant portrayal not only hooks you with all those things, but also builds a genuine level of emotional depth to broadcast a different side of the character that really compliments the film's tone and well-realised setting. That humanity also comes from the script though, which intelligently balances that serious development with equally snappy humour that's tailored extremely well to the two leads. In the end then, that leaves for a properly enjoyable film where there's genuinely great stuff there for the brilliant comedy and action to relieve. Weirdly, Guy Ritchie is properly, properly back.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: There's no doubting that whilst there is definitely plenty of grounded material here, the plot and style is - often deliberately - rather silly.

VERDICT: An extremely fun film that hooks you with its underlying merit and plays with it in the most delightful, and surprisingly Guy Ritchie kind of way.