We meet Sherlock Holmes, the brilliant detective, master of deductive reasoning, and title character of Guy Ritchie’s new film, while he’s disrupting an occultic ceremony of some sort wherein a young woman is about to be killed by a spooky-gibberish-chanting warlock-type guy.
Holmes, played by Robert Downey, Jr., and his trusty, investigatory partner (not sidekick!), Dr. John Watson (Jude Law), sweep in and save the day. The evil Lord Blackwood is apprehended by the authorities and sentenced to death. This underlying “intellect vs. mysticism” theme is quickly introduced within the first 10 minutes, setting up one of the main underlying points of the story.
But don’t be mistaken, this movie takes the spiritual themes seriously only in appearance, using them for mainly entertainment purposes. The filmmakers playfully throw around things like human sacrifice and “black magic” simply to further along the cinematic adventure. This is both good and bad. Good because it adds to our overall fun and enjoyment of the film without having to think too hard (we love that, don’t we?), but bad because it treats potentially very serious themes with deliberate carelessness.
In defense of the filmmakers, this is the way, Holmes, the logical master of deductive reasoning, treats the possibility of the supernatural. In the film, Holmes states something to that effect—that there is no way of measuring such phenomena as it does not fall into factual reality. And naturally, a master detective relies solely on rational thinking and logical conclusion.
But remember, Sherlock Holmes is a Guy Ritchie movie—the dialogue is Brit-witty and fast-paced, the story has some great action sequences filmed in hyper-shutter speed and cool camera movements allowing for the occasional, always-crowd-pleasing slowmo shots (reminders of his Snatch fame). So even if you’re not totally following the ever-moving storyline, you’ve still got the fun visuals.
Downey, Jr. and Law as Holmes and Watson are a great combo, bouncing off of each other like ping-pong balls. Downey, Jr. is excellent as the nutty, unkempt “World’s Greatest Detective,” and Law is the straight-laced doctor and war veteran with a penchant for adventure. So in the end, we’re left with a very entertaining buddy-cop action flick in the same vein as the “Lethal Weapon” and “Rush Hour” movies, where the films are not heavy on twisted plots, but thick with humor and action, relying on the chemistry between the two “cop” characters.
Fans of the original Sherlock Holmes character from the stories of 19th-century author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle may be pleased that all the major elements and quirks are intact, but this is still an intentionally hip and modern take on a classic. Holmes is more like a calculating super hero with precise ninja-like battle skills, but whose supreme power is his mental acumen, and Watson is a swashbuckling partner and formidable equal. Sprinkle over a few bits of contemporary issues that plague the world, and you have Ritchie’s Holmes.
Remember I mentioned Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), earlier? Well, just before he’s going to be executed, Blackwood makes a chilling prophecy over Holmes and the future, and then seemingly rises from the dead, three days after his execution. The supernatural occurrence challenges the investigative process of Holmes and Watson, while simultaneously sending England into a fearful frenzy.
This is where the movie tells everyone to calm down and “come, let us reason together.” Never fear, the human mind will conquer all the spirits. We must use the ol’ noggin’ to conquer the smoke and mirrors of practitioners of fear-mongering superstition, and defeat the mystical with the mental. So Holmes and Watson battle the dark arts of Lord Blackwood as he threatens to destroy the country (and the world, as all good criminal masterminds seem to desire).
I can see the potential moral one can extrapolate from the story’s dilemma—God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control, but that might be stretching it a bit. After all, the overall point of the film is that logic and science are naturally winning opponents to religion and spiritual things. So instead, it makes more sense to focus on the “think first, act second” principle that Sherlock Holmes embodies in response to the superstitious mass hysteria. When trouble comes our way, rather than reacting in fear and trembling, we need only to have faith. Simple, but not easy, I know, but we can relate. When fearful talk and uncertain times show up, we can pause, think, and trust God.
Be still, and recognize Who’s in control (Psalms 46:10). That is perhaps the best response to any situation, good or bad. I would love to have Sherlock Holmes’ brilliance (not to mention his acrobatic martial arts skills), but it’s better to have confidence in the Creator of the human mind, the Inventor of life. I may try to find all the courage and strength in myself, but alas, He is God, and I’m not. Even when my resources—intellect, strength, talents, money, or whatever—are challenged or used up, I can look to the One that commands the thunder and calms the storms (Mark 4). And that, my dear readers, is elementary.
