REVIEW
By Yvette M. Kelley
Review Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5

After finally catching serial killer and occult "sorcerer" Lord Blackwood, legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson can close yet another successful case. But when Blackwood mysteriously returns from the grave and resumes his killing spree, Holmes must take up the hunt once again. Contending with his partner's new fiancée and the dimwitted head of Scotland Yard, the dauntless detective must unravel the clues that will lead him into a twisted web of murder, deceit, and black magic - and the deadly embrace of temptress Irene Adler.

I went to the pre-screening of Sherlock Holmes last night with Sean, and my 3 boys Nick (16), Jake (10), and Hunter (7). This movie is rated PG13 and the boys were dying to see Robert Downey Jr., whom they loved as Iron Man, who was I to say no. Well let me tell you when a movie that is approximately 128 minutes long and keeps a 7 year olds attention, who is then quoting lines from it afterwards absolutely amazes me.

The movie starts off with a nice little action sequence and from those of you that know me I love my fight scenes. I can pick apart a fight scene in the blink of an eye, to the annoyance of some as I do it out loud. Robert Downey Jr. who is probably in the best shape he has ever been in his life can fight! As Sherlock Holmes, he is for lack of a better word BRILLIANT! I enjoyed the complexity of his character. He was manic one minute and charmingly brilliant the next. I think he is by far one of the best actors of our generation and has brought a new take on Sherlock Holmes, bringing a stuffy character from the novels to someone who is clever, quick witted, and charming. The chemistry between Holmes and Dr. John Watson played by Jude Law is undeniably engaging which makes you wonder why there was opposition in the casting of Law in the first place.

Jude Law is not your usual sidekick as Watson, he is treated more as Holmes partner and equal and although you see in the movie that he does learn from Holmes you also see that without Watson, Holmes would have no stability. Law does a fantastic job as Watson and brings just enough dry wit and aggression to the role to show that he can give Holmes a run for his money when needed.

Which brings us to the plot. Directed by Guy Ritchie. The film primarily deals with the evil Lord Blackwood played by Mark Strong, who deals with black magic and ritualistic killing, sets the stage at the beginning of the movie and plays throughout for Holmes, Watson, and Inspector Lestrade played by Eddie Marsan to try and solve the case.

Rachel McAdams character Irene Adler isn’t a strongly developed character in the movie which saddened me as the history between her and Holmes could have been played upon a bit more. The plot although not the strongest was still enjoyable and if truth were told I was enjoying the actor interaction way too much too focus on it that deeply. (It kept me interested enough though that I put my Grissom mind to work to help solve the case along side Holmes. Some of which I did.) The action scenes were impressive and not overly done. Some were even amusing. Towards the end, Holmes nemesis Professor Moriarty is somewhat introduced and has me wondering if there will be a sequel in the works.

All in all everyone I spoke to after the movie LOVED IT!!! Go enjoy the movie! It is the Sherlock Holmes for this generation! Too me it’s a definite MUST SEE movie!!!