57
Metascore
34 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyRitchie has never worked on a scale anything approaching this before and, while some of the directorial affectations are distracting, he keeps the action humming.
- 70The New YorkerDavid DenbyThe New YorkerDavid DenbyChallenged by Downey’s energy, Jude Law, who often seems aimless in his movies, comes fully up to speed. He’s virile and quick-witted, and his Watson, if not Holmes’s equal in brainpower, comes close to him in daring. Their repartee evokes the banter of lovers in a screwball comedy; they flirt outrageously but chastely.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanSherlock Holmes is an odd amalgam, a top-heavy light entertainment that keeps throwing things at you and doesn't seem too concerned with whether they stick.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe reason Sherlock Holmes fails at least as often as it succeeds is because more effort and attention was lavished upon the concept than upon the script. Given a worthy story, Downey's Holmes might have been memorable. Here, he's an interesting character in search of a worthwhile story.
- 60EmpireWilliam ThomasEmpireWilliam ThomasA fun, action-packed reintroduction to Conan Doyle's classic characters. Part Two should provide more in the way of scope.
- 50Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversRitchie is all about the whooshing and headbanging, leaving no space between Holmes' words to savor their meaning. Downey is irresistible. The movie, not so much.
- 50Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanAs over-emphatic as one might expect from the ham-fisted Guy Ritchie, this resurrection of the world's most famous detective is a dank, noisy affair.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttSherlock Holmes goes wrong in many ways except for one -- at the boxoffice.
- 40Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfThis is the ultimate sin of the film, generically helmed by lad-auteur Guy Ritchie: Logic seems to be thrown out the window in order to make room for clashes on a partially completed Tower Bridge. It’s way too elementary.
- 38Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsIt's a serious drag to see how Ritchie has turned Holmes and Dr. Watson into a couple of garden-variety thugs.