(4.5 out of 5 stars)

Robert Downey, Jr. plays Sherlock Holmes with bravado, gusto, and a minutia of idiosyncrasies that provides us with a character who is a mystery himself. Jude Law goes toe to toe with Downey playing the sidekick, Dr. Watson, who continually wants out of the inspector business but keeps getting drawn in by the macabre and intrigue of Holmes next mystery.

Holmes’ mystery revolves around the apparent death and resurrection of Lord Blackwell, played by the sinister Mark Strong. Blackwell convinces all of London that he can control them all with black magic, but Holmes never believes this and finds each clue that leads him to the truth. The audience, if paying close attention, could also pick up these clues, but the movie’s script uses slight of hand, much like The Prestige did. We instead watch Holmes with a careful eye and get distracted by the witty banter between Holmes and Watson, and ultimately lose sight of those clues until they are summarized at the end.

Not only is the acting and script top notch, the director, Guy Richie, uses a stylistic technique to tell the story and develop the character which makes the movie easy to understand and interesting to watch. He also makes use of impressive sets and color tones to tell the story. And what about Professor Moriarty? That is a mystery for you to solve as you go see the movie yourself.

Suggested Similar Recommendations: The Prestige