Holmes Skillet

Director Guy Ritchie cooks up a Sherlock Holmes for the twenty-first century.
Sherlock Holmes
Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams

Why would Hollywood revive a property that even your grandparents find a little dusty? Elementary, my dear reader: The Sherlock Holmes books have sold millions of copies worldwide, and the character is a global icon. There’s got to be a way to tap into that. Word is that radical revisions have been made—and for good reason, if Hollywood really expects us to party like it’s 1891. First of all, don’t expect a starchy, laborious Holmes (he’s played by motor-mouthed Downey Jr.). Second, do expect plenty of fisticuffs, gunplay, and high-octane action sequences; we won’t be stranded in book-lined drawing rooms listening to Holmes expound on deductive reasoning. And while Holmes’s faithful assistant, Dr. Watson, might still be one step behind the plot, he’s played by Law, so expect him to ferret out his fair share of helpful lady friends. Finally, the lad behind the camera is Snatch’s Guy Ritchie, who’s not one for phony, stuffy accents and highborn airs. (Just ask his ex-wife.) Yes, there’s a lot of potential here, which has us wondering: Why wasn’t it attempted sooner?