Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Hello all!

Today, I am going to review for you another one of my favorites! I just watched it a year and a half ago for the first time, but since then I have watched it at least thirty times.

Am I being mysterious? Good, because it's a mystery.

Are you curious to what it is? No, because you already read the title of the post.

Anyway...

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning.

Sherlock Holmes (2009):

(Loosely) Based on: the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
"There is nothing more elusive than an obvious fact."
Sherlock Holmes and his retiring partner John Watson have solved a mystery where Lord Blackwood was arrested and hanged for murder. They think that it is now in the past, but when Blackwood supposedly 'rises from the dead', they reopen the case. With criminal Irene Adler seeking Sherlock's help as well, will they find out how Blackwood survived and stop him before it is too late?
"Watson, what have you done?"

Genre: Mystery, Action.

Length: approx. 128 minutes.

Costumes: 6, there is a scene where someone is wearing no clothing, and a few low costumes, but good besides that!

Script: 9, I think that they use a name in vain once or twice.

'"I've been reviewing my notes, of our exploits over the last seven months. Would you like to know my conclusion? I am psychologically disturbed."

"How so?" 

"Why else would I be continually led into situations where you deliberately, withhold your plans from me?"'

Crew:

Directed by: Guy Ritchie.

Written by: Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, Simon Kinberg, & Lionel Wigram.

Starring:
Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes.

Jude Law as John Watson. "Relax, I'm a doctor."

I know that this is the typical picture but I love it so I'm putting it here anyway.

Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler.

Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood.
Kelly Reilly as Mary Morstan.

Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade.
James Fox as Sir Thomas Rotheram.

Hans Matheson as Lord Coward. (Great name, right?)

Robert Maillet as Dredger.
William Hope as American Ambassador Standish.
William Houston as Constable Clark.
Geraldine James as Mrs. Hudson.

Cinematography: 10! The aesthetic of this movie is grungy, dirty, dark and light at the same time, with random blotches of color, but I totally dig it. 100%. It is awesome.

Cinematography by: Philippe Rousselot.

Music: 10! Oh, this music fits this movie perfectly! I can't imagine any other to replace it.

Music by: Hans Zimmer.

Quotes: 10! So, the reason that I don't have that many scattered through out this post is because they are so weird out of context. It is so quotable for anyone who has watched it, pretty much everyday my sister and I use a line from it, and whenever we watch it we are just saying the lines along with the actors. But, if you haven't seen it, it seems like we are all crazy.

'"More coal, doctor!"

"I see that you two are working hard."'

Notes: I'm not the ultimate Sherlock Holmes fan, but I did read the stories a few years ago, so I do notice a few things pointing directly to them:
The initials V. R..
In this movie Watson says to Mary, "Count those steps.", which is referring to one time in the stories (A Study in Scarlet?) Sherlock criticizes Watson for not noticing things, like how many steps there are.

Storyline: 6, there is a very suggestive thing where we see someone with no clothes on, drinking, smoking, use of drugs, murder, hanging, fighting, intense action, and general gruesome images. See more below!

Good For: Mystery lovers, Sherlock Holmes fans.

Age Range: My older sister, dad, and I love it. We watch it all the time. We convinced my little sister to watch it, and she hates it. She claims that it is super scary (see more below), and runs from the room anytime we watch it (when she saw me reviewing it right now she said "That's the scariest movie there ever was."). It is rated PG-13, so I'd go with that (my little sister is over 13, but still doesn't like it.) Just a heads up.
"How terrible is wisdom, when it brings no profit to the wise."

Overall Score: 8.5!

Bonus thoughts:
Now for all of that "see more below". This review is so hard to write without giving anything away! I'll try.

The reason that people fear Blackwood is because of his use of black magic. Don't run away! As a Catholic, I definitely do not like things that involve it, but remember, I love this movie. Watching it you will probably get freaked out a few times (I certainly did), but I cannot stress one thing enough: Watch it all the way to the end. I'm serious. This mystery is so awesome, you need to see everything to understand it. Some of Blackwood's ideas are Christian ideas twisted in a really bad way, so it shows that there are good ways to think about things, and bad ways.
Don't worry, just watch it and see what I'm talking about.


Thank you so much for reading! If you have seen this movie let me know so we can chat!

MovieCritic