Sherlock Holmes (2009) * * *

Directed by:  Guy Ritchie

Starring:  Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Kelly Reilly

Sherlock Holmes is such a refreshing take on the legendary character that I don't think he says, "Elementary, my Dear Watson," even once in the movie.   Maybe he did, and I might've missed it, but the utterance isn't needed.    In Guy Ritchie's version, Holmes is indeed the superior sleuth who can pick up on any miniscule clue and connect it to the case he's attempting to solve.    But, his partner Dr. John Watson (Law) isn't presented as a dodo whose job is to say all the wrong things and have Holmes correct him.    No, Watson is quite capable of handling himself in the brains and brawn department.    Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is involved in more fistfights, explosions, and chases than any of the Sherlock Holmes movies I've seen combined.

This may be the first Sherlock Holmes in which the detective takes up bare knuckle prizefighting and walks us through his strategy to incapacitate his opponent.   As played by Robert Downey, Jr., Holmes is fit, lean, socially awkward, standoffish, and of course superhumanly observant.    Nothing gets past him.    Relocate him in 20th century America, and he would've located Jimmy Hoffa in about two days.   

Guy Ritchie's reimagining of the Arthur Conan Doyle character turns him into an action hero as well as the best detective in the world.    But, he has issues, like alcoholism, terrible housekeeping skills, and petulant sulking when Dr. Watson announces his engagement to Mary (Reilly), who is no pushover for either Holmes or Watson.    She turns the tables on Holmes at their first dinner meeting, showing that Holmes isn't always spot-on with his observations and powers of deduction.

The more pressing issue is that the evil mystic Lord Blackwood (Strong), whom Holmes and Watson thwart just as he is about to sacrifice a young woman, has seemingly resurrected after his execution by hanging.    Like Jesus, he arose from his tomb, pushed aside the giant stone blocking it, and walked away from the cemetery no worse for wear.   Blackwood goes on to terrify the city with aid of a secret society of occult followers while threatening mass destruction and a new world order (something involving getting the United States back under England's umbrella again).     Blackwood can seemingly produce spells at will which paralyze, kill, or merely set people on fire without aid of a flamethrower.    Holmes is on the case, but how is Blackwood performing these supernatural acts? 
Is he a true purveyor of the dark arts, or a con artist? 

Holmes along the way reencounters Irene Adler (McAdams), a shady woman from his past who once broke his heart.    She works for an even more shadowy figure in Professor Moriarty, whose identity remains hidden and wants to engage Holmes in a showdown of master intellects, and possibly kill him.   Downey and McAdams engage in intellectual foreplay and have chemistry, although not as much as Downey and Law, who if we didn't know better could pass for a gay couple.    There is no evidence they are gay, but there are vibes.

Sherlock Holmes is a cheerfully preposterous action film with the indefatigable sleuth as its center. 
At times, the action is hard to follow, and Holmes thankfully recaps how we got here at critical points.   Like all great detectives of fiction, he stops everything to explain how he magnificently solved the crime, and I can't say I'd be surprised to see Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple transformed into brilliant ass-kickers in the near future.