Sherlock Holmes (2009) - Chemistry, my dear Watson

There are many good things I can say about 2009's 'Sherlock Holmes' - I thought it was great and definitely a film that can be enjoyed again and again.  However, what could have either just been a forgettable little period action film for a niche audience who was into old heroes from literary fiction, went totally mainstream for one reason: the chemistry between the two leads.

Here, the famous titular detective from the nineteenth century is played by 'Iron Man' himself, Robert Downey Jr (sporting a damn fine English accent!), while his long-suffering sidekick 'Dr John Watson' is played by (natural Englishman) Jude Law.  And, in short, everything rests on them.  I would imagine that most people wouldn't be too surprised to hear that Robert Downey Jr can hold his own in a franchise, seeing as he is practically the face of Marvel's 'Cinematic Universe.' However, Jude Law can be a bit 'hit and miss' with her performances (I'm not much of a fan of his, but I have to admit he's perfect for the role here).  And, best of all, the two acting heavyweights work perfectly side by side, whether they're actually working together on a case, or generally rubbing each other up the wrong way.  They always come across as a pair of people who know each other so well that they can happily bicker and argue without ever truly falling out (like many of the best relationships!).

For me, the story almost comes secondary to the simple joy of watching Holmes and Watson interact.  Die hard fans of the source material were (apparently) a little annoyed that Holmes' most famous nemesis 'Moriarty' didn't show, but, instead, we have (another excellent actor) Mark Strong as 'Lord Henry Blackwood' - a politician with more than a few tricks up his sleeve and designs on 'retaking' us Brits' former 'colony,' which is none other than a little place called 'America!'

Rachel McAdams is the (obligatory) love interest for Holmes (Watson is actually already in a relationship, so didn't need a 'will they/won't they' story arc) and Eddie Marsan is the chief of police.  Both are fine additions to the cast, but still can't live up to the main two (or three - Mark Strong is pretty menacing, as bad-guys go).

The other notable 'character' I should mention is not really a character, but the director, Guy Ritchie - a man most famous for being the creative force behind plenty of memorable British gangster films (and one trainwreck of a marriage!).  He's truly one of the directors who, assuming you've seen some of his previous films, if you turned on 'Sherlock Holmes' halfway through you'd stand a good chance of actually guessing that he was the man behind the camera.  He has a certain visual flair that few other film-makers possess and it really helps in turning a sharp script into a stylish story.

There really isn't much wrong with this film.  I guess some of the computer effects and scenery (used to turn sets and locations into London of a hundred or so years ago) are a little blurry and you can probably tell when and where the green-screen is.  However, that's a minor gripe.  Don't think that just because there aren't any car chases and big budget action set-pieces that this isn't an exciting film that isn't worth your time.

And the sequel's pretty good, too!

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one