Sherlock Holmes

After having nagged me since Xmas, Caro finally got to see this for her birthday.

She likes Robert Downey Jnr, you see and he does make a fine Sherlock Holmes.  Not the thoughtful, aloof Sherlock we are used to though.  Despite the fact that this Sherlock is tortured by his genius, he manages to be affable, dashing, funny, romantic and a bit of an action-hero - cleverly thinking through how he will biff someone to inflict the required damage before actually doing it.

In the biffing department, he is aided by stalwart chap Dr. Watson (Jude Law) and although much has been made of their onscreen chemistry (which is fine) there's not really enough of it.  Watson is on the verge of getting married you see, and leaving Holmes' side.  Unfortunately this coincides with a crime-spree by the villainous Lord Blackwood - a diabolic dabbler in devilry who is using the black arts to grab control of the Empire.  The dastard!

So Sherlock must do much of the detecting solo, leading him into a murky world of black magic and murderous henchmen - and to complicate things still further an old flame turns up and a mysterious Professor lurks in the background...

I sort of enjoyed Sherlock Holmes, although it is closer in spirit to action-adventure movies like National Treasure or Van Helsing than it is to Jeremy Brett and Basil Rathbone.  There's not a great deal of deduction going on until the last 10 minutes when Holmes reveals all, but it moves along swiftly and the seedy underbelly of Victorian London is nicely imagined.  Nothing special, but a decent holiday blockbuster.  6/10