Ceritanya mengisahkan seorang penyiasat persendirian bernama Serlock Holmes n rakannya Dr. Watson menyiasat sebuah kes 'black magic' yang berlaku di kota London. Dapat sherlock menyelesaikan kes ini ada tidak? Tontonlah wayang tersebut.... penuh aksi-aksi yang melebarkan dan lucu. Dibawah adalah summary bagi cerita tersebut dalam English...
Cast : Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams
Direction: Guy Ritchie
Genre: Action/ Thriller
Rating:
Guy Ritchie known for making modern Brit gangster films (‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’, ‘Snatch’, ‘RocknRolla’) now enters an unexplored territory. He attempts to revamp Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic literary character ‘Sherlock Holmes’ by giving it a modern twist. Result? Ritchie lets you be the detective for a change as you too are left hunting for ‘fun’ in the film which to a certain extent you do find all thanks to the crackling chemistry between Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) and Watson (Jude Law).
The film begins with the arrest of Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong (Body of Lies, impressive) who uses his mysterious dark powers to rule London. Holmes and Watson get back to business and together track down the culprit and get him arrested. Just when Holmes feels that he has solved the case, news of Blackwood getting back from the dead surfaces leading the famous detective and his sidekick to yet another mind-bending journey of solving a supernatural puzzle this time around. Complicating matters is Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), Holmes’s ex-flame, who returns to London with hidden motives that adds to Holmes’ list of suspicions.
Ritchie’s adaptation portrays Holmes’ eccentricities as a genius perfectly but somehow also makes him look more of a street fighter than a detective. The huge number of stunts induced in the film makes it more of an action packed James Bond flick and less of a suspense thriller which it should ideally be. The stunts are shot superbly (watch out for the scene where Holmes envisages his stunts before he actually does it. The stunts are shown in slow motion and are cleverly shot) but its abundance and thus lack of relevance is what puts you off. Holmes is also shown spending more time in fist-fights than solving his cases.
Coming to the story, seeing Holmes solve a puzzle with his great mind is what you expect but what you get is meaningless conversations between the characters instead and then stunts in between when the director feels the pace of the film has slowed down.
The supernatural plot is predictable and thus disinteresting. Addition of Rachel McAdams as femme fatale Irene is another drawback as she doesn’t exude the sensuality her character demands. Rachel and Robert have zero chemistry!
Set in 19th century London, the film lacks the Victorian finesse that the era demands.
In spite of the odds, what does make Sherlock Holmes worth a watch is the chemistry between its lead actors. Ritchie gets his casting bang on. Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock and Jude Law as Dr Watson are superb. They keep bickering like a married couple throughout. When Watson decides to move out of their shared apartment and live with his fiancée Mary instead, you sense jealousy in Holmes’ eyes. If Holmes is a genius yet an eccentric brat, Watson is a protective partner who helps Holmes balance his life by making him look sane to the outside world. Robert and Jude both exude unspoken emotions for each other thus creating a subtle homo-erotic tension between their characters. Ritchie’s typical dark humour and witty one-liners work too.
Robert renders a befitting portrayal of Sherlock. He creates the aura that his legendary character demands. His Brit accent (inspite of being an American) is impressive. Jude Law is impeccable. He is charming, good looking, intelligent and vulnerable as Watson. Together the two are the best thing to have happened to this film and the sequels to follow.
We have read much better Sherlock Holmes stories than what we get to see. The film is a classic example of how good actors can help you like a strictly mediocre film.
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