Sherlock Holmes

Things I deduced while watching Sherlock Holmes:

1. I was not greatly disappointed in any of my original reasons to watch the movie: it was set in London, it was essentially a “buddy cop” movie with lots of witty repartee, and it was part of a long and storied legend. However, they could have done better in each area—more shots of London, more time on characterization, and a closer interpretation of Doyle’s beloved detective.

2. Casting Jude Law against type was a great idea. It made me laugh just to see him in the grimy, crime-filled streets instead of lounging around in a sweater wooing some woman.

3. Director Guy Ritchie clearly likes his fisticuffs.

4. Rachel McAdams brought her usual scintillating presence but finally she has been given a male lead capable of upstaging her (though admittedly I haven’t seen The Wedding Crashers, and Owen Wilson has stolen every scene he’s ever been in).

5. The popular medical drama House is based on the Sherlock Holmes character. I may be the last person on earth to realize this. However, it only took me about fifteen minutes of watching how Holmes (or should I say “House”) and Watson (or should I say “Wilson”) acted and interacted to realize the many parallels. Brilliant deductions, codependence, sabotaged relationships, drug dependence, and Florence Nightingale syndrome—it all makes sense now. I wondered where they got the last name “House.”

6. The movie is entertaining, fun, action-packed, and witty. Give it a go.