My exposure to Sherlock Holmes stories growing up was limited. As a result, when I heard that Guy Ritchie (RocknRolla, Snatch) was working on a film starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, I let myself stay in that space of vagueness about the origins and history of the characters. There are times when you just want to be surprised, and often Ritchie’s films have been pleasant surprises, especially in the casting choices for characters. I’ve found that Ritchie’s films have helped in normalizing the people of Color that live in parts of the UK that US audiences may not get exposure to/consider/know about. I desired to have this same element of surprise for this film.

I do enjoy a mystery and even more a psychological thriller, and I do believe Sherlock Holmes offers both of these to viewers. There were some things I knew to prepare for regarding the film, such as a 2+ hour-long experience, and some UKish accents. Our theater was sold out and as we watched the trailers, my friend and I were not impressed with the films that are coming out in the near future. I was hoping this was not trying to set us up for a poor film experience.

Good for us those trailers were the only things that sucked about the film. I was entertained the entire time, laughed at all the jokes (and probably some that were not meant to be funny, but I’m known for laughing at inappropriate times at films), and totally did not figure out the ending until it was revealed. I like those kinds of films. Often I can fairly quickly figure out how a film is going to end considering the Hollywood cookie cutter plots that seem to be the fashion over the decades.

Not only was I convinced that Robert Downey Jr. (The Soloist, Iron Man) could be Sherlock Holmes, but I was also pretty convinced of Jude Law (The Aviator) as Doctor John Watson and Rachel McAdams (State of Play, Wedding Crashers) as Irene Adler, Holmes ex-lover and “robber.” I was not so impressed with Doctor Watson’s love interest Mary Morstan performed by Kelly Reilly (Pride & Prejudice), however her character wasn’t as fully developed as the others. The lead villain is Mark Strong (RocknRolla) who plays Lord Blackwell and plays him well. There is an eeriness that Strong perfects in this representation and with the added elements of trickery and magic, he stood out to me because he looked so familiar yet I could not place him. Here’s to hoping Sherlock Holmes results in more lead work for Strong.

The plot has a theme of fraternal order, attempts at world domination, uses of magic, and all around trickery. One of the things I appreciated about the film was that the magic was connected to using herbal and “natural” resources to create a particular experience, as this is historically accurate (you know Sherlock Holmes is somewhat of a “period” piece, right?). Then there are the other smaller plots that revolve around the men finding and maintaining love, how their friendship is a necessity for both of them, and how Holmes copes with lulls in his work.

A pleasant surprise was the Matrix-effect in some of the fighting scenes. I also enjoyed hearing the thought process Holmes goes through before he makes a move. Hearing and witnessing those mechanics add something to Holmes intellect and logic. We really do get to “look inside his head.” Then to see the thought process put into action was like plucking some of the best fighting scenes from Fight Club and putting them in the film. The film also ends alluding to a sequel.

What I wasn’t completely in love with about the film was that some scenes did last longer than others and I thought they could have been shorter. This may become an issue if you don’t use the bathroom before the film because you’ll miss a lot if you leave in the middle of the film. In addition, I shared with my father that he would enjoy the film, but he quickly reminded me that he has a hard time understanding some accents, and even though he learned how to speak English by listening to the Beatles, he doesn’t think he can follow a film where 99% of the characters speak in a UKish accent.

Now, what I’d like to know is: When is Barbara Neely’s mystery books going to get similar attention? That’s a book to film I’d love to see!

VL Verdict: 9 out of 10