One of the key problems — or one of my key problems — with Guy Ritchie’s movies has been that he casts actors who can coast through their smirky, self-aware roles without going too deep into any given persona. They’re fun rides, but it’s not so often that I think of a Ritchie flick as a haven for character.
That could change with Sherlock Holmes. Variety reports that Jude Law is close to finalizing a deal to appear as Dr. Watson alongside Robert Downey, Jr’s Sherlock Holmes. That’s a tidy piece of casting, especially as I can see Downey pushing anyone working with him day-to-day to turn in some of their best work. His enthusiasm has to be infectious.
Several roles remain to be cast, so we could still see Russell Crowe as the villain, Blackwood, or (Mark Strong, I blame my fatigue on un-casting you for Blackwood) in a Moriarty cameo. Regardless, with each major casting announcement I get a little more interested in a film I’d previously been tempted to write off outright.