Sherlock Holmes - This Holmes Rocks!

(2009) ★★★★☆

I gotta confess: I don't know about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I didn't read any of his novels or short stories. No idea how he created Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson with his expertise. I guess that's why I could enjoy 'Sherlock Holmes'. So ignorance is indeed bliss at times.

It's a fast-beat action crime film full of entertaining and funny stuff. The case itself is, as important as it's always been, not that complicated or say, mysterious (When Blackwood is hanged at the beginning, you surely know he's not gonna go like that)-just an 1891 London version of superstitious terrorists trying to take over the world with their so called magic, but of course, as usual you can't possibly make any head nor tail of it till the end. Simply put, it's like a magician going against a brilliant detective famous for his reasoning and detail-mindedness to solve difficult cases. Under Guy Ritchie's directing, Sherlock Homes (Robert Downey Jr.) has become much younger and more vigorous so that he can run like Bolt, fight like Jean-Claude Van Damme, be sarcastic and humorous as Dr House, and cool and rational like Dr Gil from CSI. And Watson (Jude Law) is forced to save Holmes's ass from time to time (probably cuz he's marrying Mary and doesn't want to be considered gay). Whatever, Holmes's not a perfect hero like before.

Nowadays, people would like to see heroes fail or be damned sometimes. So 007 is no longer an invincible gentleman, but a lucky punk. The Dark Knight is more like a man than a bat. And 2009 Sherlock Holmes is by no means nice and clean. He has in a way become much more charismatic and adorable without emphasizing his trademark hat and pipe too much (Did you see his pipe anyway? I saw his violin instead).

Sure it'd be better if we could be told more about the love between Holmes and Irene Alder. But it's okay since there'll be a sequel coming, definitely. And rumor has it Brat Pitt would play the criminal mastermind, Professor James Moriarty (a guy with a gun attached to his arm, remember?). Well, no kidding, they gotta 'handle' him properly.