Sherlock Holmes' dark and mysterious demeanour and the world of terror he inhabits are tailor made for the silver screen. It's about time we were treated to a modern era reincarnation of the detective from Baker Street. In the dramatic opening sequence, Holmes and Watson race to stop a human sacrifice being masterminded by the devious Lord Blackwood. The scene features extensive use of weapons and violence and this ultimately sets the tone for the rest of the movie. The main plot then unravels through a series of light moments as we are drawn into the cryptic world of Sherlock Holmes. It is revealed that he has not been presented with a case for up to three months and is growing increasingly disheveled. Here we are presented with the first glimpses of the complex relationship between Holmes and Watson. The film does an excellent job of using lighting and sound effects to take us through Holmes' mind when he is solving a problem and depicting his obsession with logic and clues. More characters are gradually introduced into the fold. In keeping with the gruesome nature of the film, we witness the hanging of Lord Blackwood as he issues a dying warning to Holmes which triggers the key mystery in the plot. What follows is a series of twists and turns as Holmes and Watson follow trails of clues, unearth motives and engage in banter and conflict. Along the way they encounter the walking dead, temptresses with a history and a mysterious cult. It all spans just over two hours and has enough drama to keep you engrossed for the full duration. Unfortunately, this seems to come at the expense of staying true to the Sherlock Holmes formula. The directors have played it safe and developed a generic superhero film to ensure general acceptance by audiences. You could easily substitute Batman or Superman into the place of Sherlock Holmes and the movie would not seem much different. This is largely because of the focus on action and violence throughout the film. From the destruction of property to the firing of guns to the engaging in fist fights, Sherlock Holmes' seems to deviate from the art of deduction to focus on action way too much. The movie also disappoints in the handling of the Holmes-Watson axis. This film is not told from the perspective of Watson. We do not grasp his admiration or bewilderment surrounding Holmes' idiosyncrasies. The relationship between the two is rather balanced with both engaging in acerbic wit at the expense of the other. Purists longing to see the literary interpretation of this relationship in the flesh are thus likely to be disappointed. In fact while the male leads are endearing characters in their own right, they are a far cry from the characters coined by Arthur Conan Doyle. In the interest of making the film more appealing, the leads have been cast as dashing young man brimming with charisma and poise. This is incongruous with the vision of the two as cold and aloof scientists caught up in the fantasies of their own world. But it's not as if the directors meant for the film to only have a superficial relationship with its counterpart. Many of the dialogues from the film are extracted straight from the books and the air of mystery and intrigue continues to pervade the plot. Sherlock Holmes is a fun film in its own right. But if you were hoping to see classical Holmes puffing on his pipe and sidling through the London fog to solve a mystery only the likes of him could dream to solve, you're likely to wish you had stayed away.

Ð Jazib Zahir

*DONÕT BOTHER
**LAST RESORT
***WORTH A WATCH
****COLLECTIBLE
*****AWARD WORTHY.