I despair of Reynolds, writing reviews of obscure foreign language thrillers that probably cost the equivalent of a Starbucks latte to make when there is the latest big budget Guy Ritchie movie just begging to be reviewed. Is that how you spend the holiday season? What message are you sending Max? Christ was born, and subsequently crucified and resurrected, in order that we might spend Christmas Day huddled in an air-conditioned movie theater watching explosions.
What to say? Sherlock Holmes is nowhere near as bad as we have a right to expect given that Ritchie is involved. It is probably best not to take the plot too seriously, and some of the fight sequences go on too long and serve little purpose. But Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law (as Doctor Watson) do good work here. There is a slight undercurrent of chaste homoeroticism as this pair act like a fussy old married couple. In truth, I can watch Downey in anything; he relies on deadpan humor and a perpetually quizzical expression. There is humor, some nice one-liners, a suitably grimy London, and — despite what the trailer would have you believe — Sherlock Holmes really does have remarkable powers of observation and deduction. If the movie makes any money, it is set up for the appearance of Professor Moriarty in the sequel. Oh, and just like the movies that Reynolds watches, it has subtitles. Go, celebrate the holiday season as God intended.