9/3/2023 0 Comments Sherlock holmes 1The visual of Holmes as an armchair detective was often overstated in the earlier on-screen adaptation. He saw many of the old adaptations as inaccurate due to their lack of large-scale action scenes, and sought to rectify the matter. Luckily, Ritchie was a fan of the old books. The classic serials of the 30s and 40s were still the defining cultural image of the detective. Barring a few TV movies, Holmes had been on hiatus from the screen for a strangely long time. In 2009, late of his middling return to form RocknRolla, Ritchie took over Warner Bros.'s new take on Sherlock Holmes, to the shock of many.Īt the time of Guy Ritchie's adaptation, the most recent theatrical Sherlock Holmes film had been released 20 years earlier. Ritchie understands something about the ethos of the criminal underbelly of London that clicks with his audience, and he's certainly made some decent films in the process. Though almost every other film he has ever made received, at best, mixed reception, his fans are numerous and extremely devoted. Ritchie followed it up with 2000s Snatch, solidifying his niche in the gritty crime comedy world. On top of prompting its star's later ascension to fame, the film is a solid and well-loved black comedy with a hard action edge. The film introduced the world to Jason Statham, a phenomenon that has yet to die down even today. Guy Ritchie exploded into the world of gangster cinema in 1998 with his feature debut Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. RELATED: Holmes & Watson Squandered A Great Premise If one were to list every modern director, though, Guy Ritchie would have been one of the last choices to handle the property. Safe in the public domain, Holmes has appeared all over TV and film in a thousand different iterations by a thousand different creators. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories are among the most heavily adapted works in all of literary canon. Guy Ritchie is more so the latter than the former, but he's shocked the world before. Others do one specific thing so well that they become beloved by fans of that subgenre and rarely deviate from their niche. And Downey's 'do (and we may literally be splitting hairs here) feels out of place, as do some of the dialogue and other camerawork.Some directors have a filmography that reads like the greatest hits record, featuring nothing but culture-defining blockbusters one after another. The quick cuts and frequent action sequences are photographed like an 1890s version of Iron Man. (And make no mistake, it wants to be a franchise - the movie leaves off where a sequel could handily pick right up.) Yet although we appreciate the shot of adrenaline that the director of far-edgier movies like RocknRolla and Snatch brings to the Holmes legend, Ritchie seems to have decided to film a superhero movie instead. Sherlock Holmes has the sooty, gritty look and feel of bygone London, and Ritchie, no surprise, brings out the franchise's pugnacious side. Though Downey Jr.'s Holmes is clearly the genius, Watson is no afterthought - and the film is so much better for that. and Law are entertaining to watch, standing shoulder to shoulder Law's Watson, in fact, is no sidekick here. Guy Ritchie's film is ostensibly about a detective, but in this version, it's also about two buddies who've had a lifetime of adventure, making the friendship between Holmes and Watson seem both believable and relatable. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails. But there's no swearing to speak of, and the movie ultimately celebrates Holmes and Watson's close friendship. There are also some fairly gory crime scenes (including shots of dead bodies, one with a few wriggling maggots), a brief scene of a naked (aside from a strategically placed pillow) Holmes handcuffed to a bed, references to the dark rituals of occult secret societies, smoking, and drinking. Gritty, late-1800s London is the movie's backdrop, and there's no shortage of action - from brutal, slo-mo fistfight scenes (most with blood and broken bones) to gunplay and big explosions. It stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and Rachel McAdams and presents an earthier, brawnier, and glossier version of the story than most of us are used to. Parents need to know that Sherlock Holmes is director Guy Ritchie's take on the famous literary/cinematic detective legend.
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