The second of Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes” adventures is, on the whole, about the same as the first. Its story is darker than the first, pushing the brilliant but eccentric private detective (before there was such a thing) across Europe in a mad dash to prevent an industrialist from instigating a world war for immense personal profit.
As in the first, Robert Downey, Jr., (as Holmes) and Jude Law (as his more than able assistant, Dr. Watson) provide most of the entertainment value. Downey still seems miscast to me, yet he is very good. Downey escalates Holmes’ eccentricities and ironies, sometimes to the point of distraction, but his intelligence and intensity bring the character to vivid life. That Holmes seems more modern than Victorian is, of course, intentional, and, I suppose, part of his charm to moviegoers. Jude Law is also very good as Watson, although it seemed to me he doesn’t have quite as much to do in this story. If this series continues, it is imperative to keep both actors together, as their bantering and bickering, like an old married couple, is energizing.
Ritchie contributes a particular style that also modernizes the drama; in certain action sequences he utilizes slow motion and sharp editing, sometimes adding the thoughts of Holmes as narration, attempting to add an “MTV” look for younger audiences accustomed to freneticism. Sometimes this works pretty well; sometimes it’s just distracting. However, Ritchie is consistent in his use of the technique, and it does set the film apart from other action-adventures, so I think he deserves some credit for rising above the cookie-cutter mentality so prevalent in Hollywood.
The story itself is engrossing but not captivating. It dispatches a character from the first film with little fanfare and introduces a Gypsy girl (Noomi Rapace) to, essentially, take her place. The villain is strongly portrayed as sort of a mirror image of Holmes, demonstrating how monstrous Holmes could become if he ever switched to the dark side. Their intellectual duel is probably the most compelling part of the story. All in all, it’s more positive than negative. Fans of the first movie should heartily enjoy this one; I enjoyed it, too, but I know that I’ll have a hard time remembering it a month from now. ✰ ✰ ½. 25 Dec. 2011.