Forget everything you thought you knew about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective, for director Guy Ritchie has given us a Sherlock Holmes for the 21st century. It sounds like a stereotypical Hollywood marketing tag line, and maybe it is, but it's true, it works, and the result is a fresh, funny, and exciting spin on a genre icon. Robert Downey jr proves that he's here to stay (out of rehab - man, I promised myself I wasn't gonna go there) as he portrays an eccentric and slightly anti-social version of the world's greatest gumshoe, one who street fights for money, performs drug experiments on his pet bull dog, and spends a good portion of the movie drunk. Brilliantly complimented by his bromantic sidekick Dr. John Watson (played to excellence by Jude Law), Holmes takes on the occult in an effort to stop a murderer who has returned to life after being hanged. Although cleverly written, and directed, Sherlock Holmes probably would've ranked as mediocre without Downey's charm and his natural chemistry with Law. The film also suffers a few painfully cliche and cheesy moments. Still, Sherlock Holmes is one of those rare movies that will appeal to a broad audience while successfully achieving what it sets out to do. Three stars for the thoroughly entertaining Sherlock Holmes!
