Guy Ritchie's Last Chance

On Christmas day, Warner Bros. will release Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. And this blogger really hopes that it gets the writer/director back on track to earning all the hype and much-deserved praise he received after Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch (two really excellent films -- Snatch especially -- for anyone who hasn't seen these) came out at the turn of the millenium. Since then, the 21st Century has been disappointing (to put it kindly) for those expecting good things from Ritchie. His 2002 film Swept Away (starring his then-wife Madonna) won five "Razzies" (basically the Oscars but for bad films) including Worst Picture and Worst Director. And 2005's Revolver is really one of the stupidest movies I've ever watched in its entirety. 2008's RocknRolla was definitely a step in the right direction from those two disasters, but it still wasn't on his par with his earlier work.

Enter Robert Downey Jr. (who seems to be currently immune from making anything but good movies over the last few years) to save the day. He'll star as a new-and-improved (and if the previews are any indication, ass-kicking) Sherlock Holmes. Of course, he'll be joined by his sidekick Watson (whose first name is actually John for those who are curious) who'll be played by Jude Law. As the casting of Law would suggest, Watson won't be the goofy, bumbling sidekick most probably envision, but he'll instead be much more of an asset (and equal) to Holmes in their attempt at stopping the destruction of Britain. Everyone's favorite girl next door (well maybe second favorite to the actual Girl Next Door, Elisha Cuthbert), Rachel McAdams, (Wedding Crashers, The Notebook) will also tag along to help the duo and play Holmes's love interest, Irene Adler.

Based on Ritchie's recent work, there's no guarantee that this is going to be a good movie. And if this ends up being a bust, I'm pretty sure we can all stick a fork in him. But the cast is great, and the preview looks really good. If you're someone who traditionally goes to a movie on Christmas afternoon, you probably won't be disappointed if you pick this one (assuming you haven't seen Avatar yet).

Here's the preview: