Sherlock Holmes

Is there anything that Robert Downey, Jr. cannot pull off with his mischievous smile and gorgeous stare? (Even before I finished the question, my mind immediately thought of Chaplin and Gingerbread Man. And to some extent, Tropic Thunder.)


This is a man whose career built from his charisma. Put him together with George Clooney, the world will melt immediately. 
It does not take us that far though, to prove the theory in the grey-ish Sherlock Holmes, where Downey dons his charm to a great degree that we cannot help but thinking: where is the old, pipe-cracking Englishman we've come to know of all these centuries?


It remains there, slightly buried within the screen persona.

At ease with a newly equipped accent, Downey's Holmes is a fresh characterization that balances the words and actions. Helmed by Guy Ritchie, the film is surely filled with fists and elaborate fighting elements with angles that often border Chinese martial art cinema.


Yet the wisdom and wits are left intact, with Downey in equal partnership with Jude Law's Dr. Watson to deliver those convincingly. Alright, wits here may refer to tongue-in-cheek humor instead, which clearly is the product of modern rework on otherwise Victorian-style puns.

Much can be said about the strange inclusion of Rachel McAdams as love interest/damsel-in-distress/supposedly equal kick that turns out to be the weakest link (so weak that I manage to remember Kelly Reilly more, albeit she only appears very few and far in between), however, the film still works as a pure enjoyable entertainment nonetheless.

Footnote: I watched this in Senayan City XXI on a Sunday night, with unbelievable crowd that includes a toddler who cried occasionally, terribly latecomers, and irresponsible audiences who forgot to close the exit door. It was absolutely a devastating filmgoing experience in years. Enough to make the cinema as one of my lower film-outing venue priorities. Truly, inside-the-mall cinemas are defined by the crowd of the mall itself.


(Watched at Senayan City XXI, Sunday, January 3, 2010. With Fahrul. Photo is courtesy of Outnow.)