The filmmakers do a nice job in recreating Victorian England. The sets including the train stations and carriages and homes and are all period and carry the viewer back to this historic time, namely 1891. Unfortunately, the movie caters to modern audiences, meaning the literary hero Holmes is thrown into a plot which involves explosions and cannons and machine guns which seem to me to be out of step within a Sherlock Holmes story. I can’t help but wonder what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would think.

The non-stop action grew a bit tiresome to watch and the violence is strong, including a scene of a man being thrown by an explosion and we see him engulfed by the flames. There are also several characters wounded and we see blood flow and many injured, including our two heroes, Holmes and Watson, who carry blood on their head wounds. Holmes is jabbed with a hook and deals with a bloody wound. In addition, apparently opium smoking is featured and a great many drinking scenes. It’s too bad the film doesn’t portray more suspense. The constant explosions and fights made me long to watch a quieter movie.

After a while Holmes’ meeting with Professor James Moriarty, the “Napoleon of Crime”, didn’t seem as important because all the energy was sucked from me from viewing all the action, explosions, rapid scene changes, and fights. Even his legendary meeting with Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls initially takes place at a terrace within a building which I found a bit strange. Robert Downey, Jr. does bring intensity to the role which is appropriate for today’s audiences I suppose and Jude Law makes a likable Watson, but unfortunately the violence and drug categories miss the mark as it relates to our content suitability for families so we must withhold our Dove “Family-Approved” Seal from this film.