It probably would be best if you had never heard of Sherlock Holmes to come close to enjoying the movie Sherlock Holmes. Other wise your knowledge of the books and previous portrayals will be a constant distraction. Robert Downing Jr., in the lead role in Guy Ritchie’s movie, doesn’t look or act the part. In fact he looks like walked right out 2009. Previously, Holmes, as I recall, was a nattily dressed, clean shaven 18th century educated gentleman. The same pretty much for Jude Law’s Watson. I just gotta say that Downey’s punch-throwing quipster Holmes is so stupid I was in shock through most of the movie. Buried beneath the effects, smoke, fist fights there might be good Sherlock Holmes story. Although I swear I saw most of the same plot in Ron Howard’s Angels & Demons last spring. The only tradition left is the concluding reveal of how Mr Holmes decipher all the clues to figured out the crime. Professor Moriarty appearance in the last act left everything wide for a sequel. Oh . . . I am pleased to report the second sighting of Kelly Reilly in movies this week. Here she played Watson’s fiancée. The other day I saw her in Me And Orson Wells. [ RT ]

As you might suspect traditionalists will dismiss Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes as too flashy and with not enough substance. Downey and Law, in the film opening Christmas Day, are to much a like and too “muscular” plus don’t show the “cerebral” side made famous by previous Holmes and Watsons. The plot won’t get seasoned Holmes fans into the cinemas but the action may appeal to the younger demos.

Variety’s Analysis Of The Movie Sherlock Holmes

If you can get over the idea of Sherlock Holmes as an action hero — and if, indeed, you want to — then there is something to enjoy about this flagrant makeover of fiction’s first modern detective into a man of brawn as much as brain. To say that this is not grandpapa’s Sherlock Holmes will be either irrelevent or a plus for most of the intended audience, who know the iconic Victorian/Edwardian-era sleuth by reputation if at all. A good number of Robert Downey Jr.’s “Iron Man” fans will likely follow him here, as he turns the venerable deerstalker-capped and becaped figure into a gym-toned, half-deranged Holmes unlike any seen before. Worldwide prospects look potent. ● More from: Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Bottom Line: Guy Ritchie’s flamboyant, scorched-earth style ill fits Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation, but few among modern moviegoers will care.

In this corner is Guy Ritchie, master of visual con-game action movies that tend toward all-style-no-substance. In that corner is Sherlock Holmes, the cerebral master sleuth who solves crimes with quiet deduction, intense concentration and a seven-percent solution. It’s no contest: The winner is Ritchie in a pyrotechnical knockout. ● More from: hollywoodreporter.com

Reviews Of Ritchie’s ‘Holmes’: What A Mysterious Puzzle

Flamboyant and flagrant are among the adjectives being used to describe Guy Ritchie’s take on “Sherlock Holmes.” A selection of reviews from various outlets may be best summed up by a quote from The Guardian: “What a mysterious puzzle Guy Ritchie’s new film presents.” ● More from: Hollywood Wiretap