I walked into the theater on Christmas Day expecting a blockbuster hit, not a stellar movie.  Mr. Holmes and the Doctor havethoroughly silenced my fears.  Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes provides a well-balanced mixture of action and plot, with a few momentary slow-motion glimpses into Holmes’ thoughts.  In several fight scenes, one sees first-hand Holmes’ famous deductive reasoning in what is almost a “How-to” for concise ass-kicking.

I have heard frustrations from a couple die-hard fans of the books about the decision to make Doc Watson into more of an action-inclined character as opposed to his previous meek self.  His past life provided a counter-balance to Holmes’ madness, and this is missing in the new Watson.  Instead, he complements Holmes, providing a calm mind as well as a swift helping hand in battle.  Their school-girl banter shown several throughout the film is reminiscent of the television show Gilmore Girls.  This is however, not a bad thing.  This banter provides a quick reprise from the much darker storyline.

*********Spoiler below*********

Die-hard fans of the detective will be pleased to know that Moriarty does make an appearance in the film, and the film ends with an introduction to Holmes’ next adventure, and the next film: the pursuit of Moriarty.

B+