Sherlock Holmes

Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is an overblown mess which is almost saved by the charisma of its stars. As the great detective and his loyal sidekick Watson, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law fight valiantly to inject some charm into this bombastic production, but to no avail. This muddled attempt to kick-start a new franchise sees the duo teaming up with Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) to tackle the villainous Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), whose mastery of black magic allows him to continue taking lives even after his own hanging. Confused? You will be. Despite the script's endless exposition, the story remains largely incomprehensible, and Ritchie's direction renders it even less coherent. He simply makes each scene faster and louder than the previous one, but this approach grows tiresome long before the film's ludicrous finale. Much of the final ten minutes is spent dropping hints for the sequel, and one hopes it will prove a more worthy vehicle for such a capable cast.