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4 stars ****

If you’re expecting the Sherlock Holmes that’s in your memory, forget that anticipation quickly. This is Sherlock on speed and everyone along for the ride has to match that pace of thought and action.

Arthur Conan Doyle wrote four books and almost 60 short stories around his character, Sherlock Holmes. Lionel Wigram wrote this story from Authur Conan Doyle’s original characters with Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg writing the screenplay. I’m not sure they expected it to last 134 minutes and run at full speed for at least 125 of those, but that’s what happens when you get Guy Ritchie to direct.

Wigram, also the key producer, had been planning ‘something’ to update Sherlock Holmes for a decade and Guy Ritchie wasn’t his first choice of director, but once on the team, no doubt the planning and writing took a different direction because it’s easy to spot a Guy Ritchie film; they’re fast, furious, lots of people usually die and best of all, they almost always very good. You could substitute Rock ‘n‘ Rolla for this movie and see the slow motion, the fast action and driving music in exactly the same approach that has become his ‘brand.’

If you’ve seen he trailer first, you’ll know that you must put the previously known character completely out of your mind. Robert Downey Jnr certainly takes over this role in a style never seen before and many have said he does a great job and masters the English accent. I wonder what another actor would have done with the role and how English their accent would have sounded? Better?

Rachel McAdams shines again, with her role changed entirely from the books, but this is a very positive gain. The relationship between Holmes and Watson is first class. This movie manages to show their real admiration of each other with a hint of fun and minor abhorrence glowing in almost every scene.

The music by Hans Zimmer is so good it stands alone. I’ve heard that Guy Ritchie used Zimmer’s Dark Knight music while mixing and editing took place and then asked Hans Zimmer to write new music for this movie. The music drives along the pace and placed in your car’s MP3 player, will drive you at the maximum speed on the highway.

My only complaint is that the explanations to the mystery went a little too fast and I’m sure I didn’t get them all. That’ll make me get the DVD!

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