Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country. The action-adventure mystery "Sherlock Holmes" is helmed by acclaimed filmmaker Guy Ritchie and stars Robert Downey Jr. as the legendary detective with Jude Law as Holmes' trusted colleague, Watson. Rachel McAdams stars as Iren Adler, the only woman ever to have bested Holmes and who has maintained a tempestuous relationship with the detective. Mark Strong stars as their mysterious new adversary, Blackwood and Kelly Reilly plays Watson's love interest, Mary.

I was quite excited by the notion of Guy Ritchie directing a mainstream Hollywood take on Sherlock Holmes. Ritchie has always had great wit and style with his British gangster films and the idea of a darker, more adult Holmes was intriguing. The casting of this film is superb but ultimately the storyline wasn’t quite as witty as I hoped for. It is still quite fun, but some of the elements can distract a bit. This is by far the most accessible film that Ritchie has ever done, and I’m excited to see where the next one goes, but ultimately this wasn’t quite the Sherlock Holmes film I was really hoping for.

Warner serves up a first rate presentation for this one on Blu. The image has outstanding depth and dimension and I loved the darker look of the photography. Shadow detail is excellent and the rich blacks add a lot of depth to the image. Fine object detail is exquisite and you can tell this was sourced from a pristine master. The sound is just as good with a really rich and dynamic sound design. This has some of the best discrete surround use I’ve heard lately and I was really impressed with the dynamic range and bottom end the track offered. I had no issues with the balance of the mix and the panning from speaker to speaker was impressive. A rich presentation on all fronts.

Warner delivers their maximum movie mode feature with this release offering a video commentary with director Guy Ritchie that gives you a side by side comparison with behind the scenes footage and more. You also get a look at making the new Holmes and the process that went into this wonderful production. A DVD copy and digital copy of the film are also included.

While not quite as witty as I hoped, Holmes still delivers a fun thrill ride with one of the best production designs I’ve seen recently. The Blu-ray provides a stunning A/V presentation making this one an easy recommendation.