Hit – Starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong

Detective Sherlock Holmes and partner-in-solving-crime Watson engage in a battle of wits with a rival whose evil plot could harm all of England.

Of all the Guy Ritchie films I have seen (Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and RocknRolla), this is the first film that I was actually able to comprehend. Thanks Guy! Obviously, this is a film that one wanted to use in terms of sequel or perhaps more films to follow it, in which case, the first film of the bunch needs to draw the audience into the character and keep them interested. I was quite upset by the idea that the ending was so abrupt and left us with no real resolution, but my husband informed me that this is the style of how the books are written. I can appreciate Guy Ritchie and the writers for being true to the series in this regard.

One thing that bugs me about this movie (or movies in general) is when there are parts/scenes in the trailer that are not in the film. This particular movie did a horrible job of this as there are specific main trailer moments that you are looking for in the film – one being the corset outfit that McAdams wears in the trailer, the other being when she says the line, “they’ve been flirting like this for hours.” Hopefully we will see these items in the bonus material of the DVD release but it is upsetting that they were not included in the final film version.

I remember as a kid when I was first disappointed by this notion. I was watching the movie Bingo (1992) in theaters and was looking forward to the part where Bingo is spinning on a stool while bandages are being removed from him. This wasn’t in the final version of the film and I was upset about it. Re-watching the trailer now makes me think, why on Earth did I ever want to see that film? I guess that is why it is considered a kids film.

Bottom Line: Sherlock Holmes is adventurous and exciting – a movie that is family friendly for children in 4th grade or older.

Action

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images and a scene of suggestive material.

Running Time: 2 hours 8 minutes