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"SHERLOCK HOLMES"
(2009) (Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law) (PG-13)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Moderate Heavy Extreme Moderate Heavy
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Heavy Minor Heavy None Minor
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Heavy Moderate Minor Moderate Extreme


QUICK TAKE:
Action/Adventure: An eccentric detective and his more reserved doctor colleague set out to solve the mystery of a murderous cult figure who seems to have returned from beyond the grave following his execution and is plotting a nefarious scheme.
PLOT:
It's the 19th century and eccentric detective Sherlock Holmes (ROBERT DOWNEY JR.) and his more reserved doctor colleague, Dr. John Watson (JUDE LAW), have used both brains and brawn to stop a murderous cult leader, Lord Blackwood (MARK STRONG), from claiming another victim, thus beating Inspector Lestrade (EDDIE MARSAN) and his Scotland Yard team, including Constable Clark (WILLIAM HOUSTON), to that achievement.

Three months later, the reclusive Holmes is hunkered down in his house working on his latest invention while Watson is seeing his girlfriend, Mary Morstan (KELLY REILLY). Holmes sees the doctor settling down as a threat to their partnership, but then again his past involvement with Irene Adler (RACHEL McADAMS) ended up with her marrying someone else.

After Blackwood's execution, however, the odd couple detective team realizes they have bigger issues with which they must face -- notably the cult leader's apparent return from beyond the grave. As Holmes and Watson try to figure out how that's possible -- leading to a secret society headed by Blackwood's father, Sir Thomas (JAMES FOX) -- and Irene returns to hire the duo for what initially appears to be an unrelated case, the two men must deduce what's really happening before Blackwood carries out his nefarious plan.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
It's a good bet various teens will be interested in it, as might anyone who's a fan of the characters and/or performers in the cast.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images and a scene of suggestive material.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • ROBERT DOWNEY JR. plays an eccentric but highly effective detective who solves his cases through a combination of brawn and brains. He's an inventor who's also proficient at fighting and defending himself, and is good at reading others and various situations, deducing the truth about both. He smokes pipes and drinks some.
  • JUDE LAW plays his more reserved partner, a doctor who assists him on cases, but doesn't always appreciate Holmes' demeanor or behavior.
  • RACHEL McADAMS plays Holmes' former girlfriend who later married someone else but is now divorced. She hires the detective duo for a job (but really does so for someone else) and is quite capable of handling herself in most any situation.
  • MARK STRONG plays a murderous cult leader who appears to return from beyond the grave following his execution to carry out his nefarious plan that seems based on paranormal activity.
  • KELLY REILLY plays Watson's girlfriend, a governess who isn't happy with the way Holmes operates.
  • EDDIE MARSAN plays the head of Scotland Yard who doesn't always appreciate the detective work done by Holmes and Watson.
  • JAMES FOX plays Blackwood's father who leads a secret society involved in the paranormal.
  • WILLIAM HOUSTON plays a constable who works for Lestrade, but helps Sherlock and Watson when he can.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    The following is a brief summary of the content found in this action/adventure film that's rated PG-13. Profanity consists of a few minor expletives, while some colorful phrases are also uttered. Non-explicit, sexually related dialogue and innuendo are present. A man is cuffed nude to a bed with just a pillow covering his crotch, while other nudity is implied and a woman is seen writhing about in a somewhat sensual manner while under the spell of a cult leader (but nothing sexual occurs between them).

    Violence consists of fighting with the intent to wound or kill, and various hard blows and such are delivered in those scenes. A criminal is executed by hanging, but is later seen to have survived that, while several others are killed (including one via an accidental hanging). Some of that has bloody results (including a brief but somewhat graphic view), while animal parts are viewed in several scenes. That material and various moments of potential peril might be unsettling and/or suspenseful to some viewers.

    Drinking occurs in several scenes, as does smoking. Bad attitudes are present, as is all sorts of potential imitative behavior.

    Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

    For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, the opening features the camera view pointed down on the street and then zipping along. Other camera movement is present in the film.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • We see wine at a big dinner.
  • Watson and Mary have wine, but she throws hers in Sherlock's face when mad at him.
  • Various people drink while watching Sherlock and another man "box," followed by Sherlock grabbing a beer after he's victorious.
  • Watson deduces that some scratches on a watch are from the wearer being drunk.
  • Irene hands Sherlock a bottle of wine to open. He pours some for both and quickly downs his, but she doesn't have any, as it turns out to be spiked with some sort of knock-out solution.
  • A boat captain drinks, with Sherlock making a fish comparison comment, and Watson sarcastically states the man drinks like one.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • Sherlock has a little blood on him following a "boxing" match with another man.
  • We hear Watson's dog fart.
  • We hear that Lord Blackwood has supposedly risen from the dead, see that his crypt has been broken open (supposedly from the inside), and Sherlock and Watson then open the casket and discover another dead man mostly covered in dirt in that, with worms or maggots crawling on his face, including one around his nostril.
  • We see various animal parts, presumably used for sorcery, in a dead man's place, and see a flashback to the man dissecting one and "boiling" (via chemical reaction) others.
  • A giant of a man has bad-looking scars on his face.
  • Sherlock's face is a little bloody following a fight with another man.
  • Sherlock examines a dead, clothed body brought to him.
  • Sherlock picks up a dead rat by the tail, and then snips off the tail.
  • We see severed pig heads in a slaughterhouse, followed by hanging, headless carcasses.
  • Irene and Sherlock have various small bloody cuts following being hit by explosions, while Watson has deeper, bloody gashes in his back and the back of the neck (briefly seen in close-up).
  • We see Sherlock testing black magic spells and such, including slicing his finger for a few drops of blood.
  • We see a flashback to a finger being sliced for some drops of blood that then fall on what looked like a dead bird.
  • Lord Blackwood has some scrapes on his face.
  • We see a flashback to a dead body in the sewer and hear that there was a shooting, but don't see that.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Lord Blackwood is a cult leader who's responsible for various murders and is plotting to wipe out much of Parliament to create a new future where his kind, and specifically him, will rule the world. He also wants to bring America back under English rule.
  • His followers and minions also have bad attitudes.
  • A waiter pockets some silverware at a big dinner.
  • Sherlock's boxing opponent spits on Sherlock after he says the bout is done.
  • Lord Blackwood gets others to believe he's practicing black magic (but we later learn that's a deception).
  • There's a running gag about the experiments Sherlock performs on Watson's dog (none of which permanently harm the dog, but do render it unconscious in one scene). The fact that this is played for comedy might be even more disturbing for some viewers.
  • Two thugs try to rob and/or attack Irene, first with one enticing her with flowers and then the other coming up behind her. She's more than capable of defending herself, though, and hits the second while holding a knife on the former.
  • A small person (who's now dead) is referred to as a dwarf and midget.
  • Three thugs enter a place with the intent of using arson to destroy evidence, only to find Sherlock and Watson there.
  • Sherlock is taken to a secret order of those who practice black magic, including Sir Thomas (Lord Blackwood's father).
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Scenes listed here and under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material.
  • We hear that Lord Blackwood has supposedly risen from the dead, see that his crypt has been broken open (supposedly from the inside), and Sherlock and Watson then open the casket and discover another dead man mostly covered in dirt in that, with worms or maggots crawling on his face, including one around his nostril.
  • Sherlock and Watson spot Irene chained by her hands to a pig slaughterhouse "assembly line." She first approaches large flames, with Sherlock wrapping her and himself in a protective sheath of some sort. After they pass that, Sherlock and Watson race to free her as the line sends her toward a huge, vertically aligned saw blade that splits pig carcasses in front of her. With Irene up on Watson's shoulders, Sherlock hurries to get the chains off, with the rotating saw getting his hat. They manage to break the support from which she hangs just in the nick of time, although when they fall down, her face ends up just inches from the blade.
  • We learn that Lord Blackwood has planned on gassing most members of Parliament with toxic gases, and Sherlock, Watson and Irene try to deactivate the release device while fighting various goons.
  • Irene ends up atop the London Bridge that's under construction, and nearly falls off that. Lord Blackwood then comes at her and she hits him, followed by him hitting her and then having Irene on the edge of the structure. He then pushes her off and she disappears from sight (we later see her down below on a platform, unconscious). Back up top, Sherlock and Lord Blackwood battle, cane vs. sword, with Sherlock briefly dangling from the edge, with Lord Blackwood shooting at him. A rope then wraps around Lord Blackwood's leg and nearly pulls him off. It then shifts and pulls him closer, while a girder or something similar nearly hits Sherlock, with Lord Blackwood falling into an array of chains. He then falls away from that, and we later see him after being accidentally hanged on those chains.
  • Watson and Irene walk in and find Sherlock hanging from the ceiling by a noose around his neck. Watson isn't fazed, however, as he knows Sherlock doesn't have that in him (he's testing how Lord Blackwood survived his earlier hanging).
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Revolvers/Knives/Sword/Canes/Explosives: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details.
  • We see a revolver and rifle being prepared in a carriage.
  • There are some sudden, loud thumps that turn out to be Sherlock in another room shooting the wall while trying to perfect a silencer on the gun.
  • A villain in the shadows aims his gun at a street person (who's really Sherlock in disguise).
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "What the hell is going on here?" "Shut up," "Death is only the beginning," "Made a proper idiot out of you," "Acting like a bunch of quivering milkmaids," "Now we have a firm grasp of the obvious," "Dwarf," "(Ginger) midget," "The game's afoot," "Watson, what have you done?" "You're not human," "Beneath this pillow lies the key to my release," "Crime is common, logic is rare," "You know damn well" and "Have you lost your mind?"
  • The fighting, stunts and other action might be enticing for some kids to imitate.
  • Watson and Mary have wine, but she throws hers in Sherlock's face when mad at him.
  • Sherlock's boxing opponent spits on Sherlock after he says the bout is done.
  • Sherlock fights another man for money (while others also gamble on the outcome).
  • There's a running gag about the experiments Sherlock performs on Watson's dog (none of which permanently harm the dog, but do render it unconscious in one scene). The fact that this is played for comedy might be even more disturbing for some viewers.
  • Sherlock jumps out a window and then down from one surface to another, descending toward the street. We then hear him crash through something at the bottom, but he's then seen okay.
  • Sherlock tries to pick a door lock, with Watson suddenly kicking it open.
  • Three thugs enter a place with the intent of using arson to destroy evidence, only to find Sherlock and Watson there.
  • Irene hands Sherlock a bottle of wine to open. He pours some for both and quickly downs his, but she doesn't have any, as it turns out to be spiked with some sort of knock-out solution.
  • Sherlock picks up a dead rat by the tail, and then snips off the tail.
  • We see Sherlock testing black magic spells and such, including slicing his finger for a few drops of blood.
  • Watson and Irene walk in and find Sherlock hanging from the ceiling by a noose around his neck. Watson isn't fazed, however, as he knows Sherlock doesn't have that in him (he's testing how Lord Blackwood survived his earlier hanging).
  • JUMP SCENES
  • There are some sudden, loud thumps that turn out to be Sherlock in another room shooting the wall while trying to perfect a silencer on the gun.
  • Sherlock tries to pick a door lock, with Watson suddenly kicking it open.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • A heavy amount of action-oriented and suspenseful music plays in the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 1 damn, 1 hell and 1 use each of "For God's sake," "Good God" and "Good Lord."
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • We see a woman lying clothed on an altar of sorts, writhing about in a somewhat sensual manner (showing cleavage), all while under Lord Blackwood's spell (where the intention is for her to kill herself, but Sherlock and Watson stop that).
  • We see a small, classic style figurine of a man that shows full rear and then frontal nudity.
  • Sherlock mentions a guy who likes fast women and slow ponies.
  • Mary shows some cleavage.
  • We see Sherlock and another man shirtless while boxing.
  • Sir Thomas states that Lord Blackwood was conceived during one of their rituals, but the mother was not his wife.
  • Irene drops her towel as she walks behind a dressing partition (we see just her bare back, but it's implied Sherlock sees everything).
  • Irene passionately kisses Sherlock as he passes out from some sort of knock-out solution in his wine. Later, a chambermaid walks in to find Sherlock handcuffed to the bed while seated upright nude, with just a pillow over his crotch. He tells the woman, "Beneath this pillow lies the key to my release" but she thinks that's innuendo rather than the literal truth and leaves. Later, he complains that chambermaids were once a more liberal breed.
  • We see Sir Thomas in a large bathtub, but nothing explicit is seen.
  • A painting in the distance appears to show side nudity, but the view is small and brief and thus the sex couldn't be determined (nothing explicit).
  • After Sherlock rescues Irene from an attack by Lord Blackwood and she regains consciousness, she groggily jokes that she's never woken up in handcuffs. He then jokes that he has, naked (referring to a scene above).
  • SMOKING
  • Sherlock smokes a pipe at least 5 times, while miscellaneous people smoke (mostly pipes, but also a cigar).
  • After thwarting Lord Blackwood, Sherlock hands Lestrade an unlit cigar.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • After Sherlock "reads" Mary and spots by her finger that she was engaged, she states that her fiance died.
  • We hear that Irene was married but is now divorced.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • This film's interpretation and presentation of the venerable detective characters.
  • Life and detective work in 19th century England.
  • Sherlock mentions Watson having a gambling problem in the past.
  • Lord Blackwood gets others to believe he's practicing black magic (but we later learn that's a deception).
  • VIOLENCE
  • In an imagined bit, Sherlock describes the various blows he's going to deliver to a man, with the contact (to the neck, gut, leg, etc.) being shown in slow-motion. We then see the real thing, with those exact same blows being delivered. Moments later, Watson grabs a man around the neck, with Sherlock holding that man's nose until he's rendered unconscious. The two then fight various men with various blows (hand to hand, as well as clubs, while avoiding a shot fired at them that hits another man instead), and prevent a woman (under Lord Blackwood's spell) from killing herself with a dagger, while Sherlock stops Watson short of accidentally impaling himself on a slender glass dagger put forth by Lord Blackwood.
  • Sherlock and another man deliver various blows and other hard contact while "boxing" for the betting pleasure of others. After Sherlock stops, the man spits on him, prompting Sherlock to imagine (and narrate) the various hard blows he's about to deliver (the contact seen in slow motion). We then see the real thing play out exactly as he described, including breaking the man's jaw, ribs and such before kicking him back through a wooden wall.
  • We see a guard who's on the floor, choking from something caused by Lord Blackwood.
  • Watson punches Sherlock in the face.
  • We hear that Lord Blackwood killed at least five people in the past (not seen).
  • For his previous crimes, Lord Blackwood is hanged via a noose around the neck (but we later learn he survived this due to planning and some outside help).
  • Sherlock jumps out a window and then down from one surface to another, descending toward the street. We then hear him crash through something at the bottom, but he's then seen okay.
  • Two thugs try to rob and/or attack Irene, first with one enticing her with flowers and then the other coming up behind her. She's more than capable of defending herself, though, and hits the second while holding a knife on the former.
  • Sherlock tries to pick a door lock, with Watson suddenly kicking it open.
  • Three thugs enter a place with the intent of using arson to destroy evidence, only to find Sherlock and Watson there. The two normal-sized men fight Watson (with various blows), while Sherlock has to fight the giant of a man (also with various blows, including with a cane, that do the man no apparent harm). That big man, however, throws Sherlock around and into things, and then proceeds to chock him until Sherlock shocks him with some sort of electrically charged rod. During this, Watson continues fighting the other men, but ends up with a knife held on him. Sherlock then charges the rod and zaps a pipe that blows the big man back into the knife-wielding one. The big man then flees, with Sherlock giving chase and shocking him again until the man grabs the rod and takes the shock until it discharges fully. Sherlock flees but then tries hitting the man with a chain, followed by the big man trying to hit Sherlock with a large mallet (that misses, but knocks out various supports propping up a large ship that's under construction in a factory). Sherlock throws a small hammer that bounces off the man, followed by the latter throwing a large barrel that ends up tripping Sherlock. Watson fires some shots at the big man but misses, while he throws a large chain that hits Sherlock. The now freed ship then slips forward into a body of water, followed by a large chain and pulley (or something similar) that zips by and nearly hits Sherlock and Watson who comes to his rescue. The ship sinks, and we see a great deal of resultant property damage in the factory.
  • We see Sir Thomas in a large bathtub, with the candles in the room suddenly going out, and he hears odd sounds. Just then, the water in the tub seemingly starts to boil (we later her from a chemical reaction with the same results), killing him as his head sinks below the surface.
  • A man who refuses to follow Lord Blackwood as the new leader tries to shoot Lord Blackwood, but is suddenly and quickly engulfed in flames (meant to appear supernatural-based, but later explained via standard science). That man then falls out a window and crashes into a carriage down below (seen again later in flashback).
  • Sherlock and Watson fire their guns at Lord Blackwood, but miss.
  • Watson accidentally hits a tripwire in an alley that sets off various explosions that hit him, Irene and especially Sherlock who gets knocked around several times by them (shown in slow-motion).
  • While Sherlock is cuffed, Lestrade punches him in the gut.
  • A villain shoots at Sherlock several times when the latter has purposefully disappeared in smoke from a fireplace where he's shut the flue. Sherlock then jumps out a window and dives several stories down into a body of water to escape.
  • Irene shoots at least one villain, followed by a gun battle and then her, Sherlock and Watson fighting others. During this, Watson slices one and hits others, while Irene shoots one that Sherlock was fighting. When the big guy from earlier shows up, Irene shoots at him several times, but misses, and her gun is then empty. Watson and Sherlock then fight the big man, including Sherlock head-butting him, the man trying to hit Watson with an ax, and Sherlock trying to hit the man in the crotch with a rod of some sort, followed by kicking him there.
  • Irene ends up atop the London Bridge that's under construction, and nearly falls off that. Lord Blackwood then comes at her and she hits him, followed by him hitting her and then having Irene on the edge of the structure. He then pushes her off and she disappears from sight (we later see her down below on a platform, unconscious). Back up top, Sherlock and Lord Blackwood battle, cane vs. sword, with Sherlock briefly dangling from the edge, with Lord Blackwood shooting at him. A rope then wraps around Lord Blackwood's leg and nearly pulls him off. It then shifts and pulls him closer, while a girder or something similar nearly hits Sherlock, with Lord Blackwood falling into an array of chains. He then falls away from that, and we later see him after being accidentally hanged on those chains.
  • We see a flashback to a dead body in the sewer and hear that there was a shooting, but don't see that.



  • Reviewed December 3, 2009 / Posted December 25, 2009

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