ATTN:Magazine | Not from concentrate.

I was so bitterly disappointed by ‘The Golden Compass’ that even now hearing of any adaptation of a beloved book sends sickening shivers down my spine. So when, quite some time ago, I first heard that Guy Ritchie was to direct a Sherlock Holmes movie I sadly shook my head and began to bitterly eat my copy of ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’. Each swallow was difficult – it tasted of betrayal.

And yet the Sherlock Holmes movie is not a disaster. It is not even, as some suggested it might be, particularly far removed from the source material. While it certainly can’t be considered a masterwork of the medium, it provides discerning viewers with a rip-roaring couple of hours of fun, and a superb text-to-screen adaptation of a notoriously complex character.

Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. make a convincing Holmes and Watson, with excellent on screen chemistry. But perhaps the best part of this film is Sarah Greenwood’s production design; a fantastically macabre Victorian-era London, with elements of steam-punk thrown in for good measure. For those of you who aren’t disturbingly knowledgeable about cinema, Greenwood was also a Production Designer for (deep breath); The Governess, Starter for Ten, The Soloist, Pride and Prejudice, and Atonement. If that filmography doesn’t impress you then you must be James Cameron (congratulations on Avatar, Sir).

The story itself is quite convoluted but well edited into a concise piece of cinema. Some rather irritating plot-holes are evident by the end of the film (how did Holmes know the MPs in ‘the order’ drank the antidote?) but these can be forgiven in film where Tarantino aside, action and ellipsis is almost always preferable over dull exposition.

So what we have here is a very rare beast indeed. A film that’s both pretty to look at and entertaining enough that you don’t simply wonder why you didn’t just go to an art gallery. And while it may not be in the same league as Zach Snyder’s films (300, Watchmen, Sin City) it certainly does a very good job at trying to get there.

For me, this is what Hollywood is about. Forget Juno and Little Miss Sunshine. I want a super-intelligent detective using police batons as nun chucks and plenty of expensive scenery and costumes. Gorgeous.

I think I can finally forgive them for ruining His Dark Materials.

Wait…wait.

No I can’t.

Join me for my next review, which will hopefully be an enlightening delve into ‘The Wolfman’.