NOTHING ESCAPES HIM. 

One of Sherlock Holmes’s (Robert Downey, Jr.) most dangerous enemies, Blackwood (Mark Strong), is finally caught and executed, but that isn’t the last of him.

One of the most oft-filmed characters ever invented was brought back for this high-concept take that could have been written by the showrunners of House; the relationship between Holmes and Watson is basically the same as that of Hugh Laurie and Robert Sean Leonard.

Downey, Jr. and Jude Law are great fun together, Strong is a reliably evil villain and even though the story has its flaws it is entertaining enough to fill the void between elaborate action sequences.

2009-U.S.-U.K.-Germany. 128 min. Color. Directed by Guy Ritchie. Screenplay: Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, Simon Kinberg. Music: Hans Zimmer. Cast: Robert Downey, Jr. (Sherlock Holmes), Jude Law (John Watson), Rachel McAdams (Irene Adler), Mark Strong (Blackwood), Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly, James Fox.

Trivia: Colin Farrell and Sienna Miller were reportedly considered for parts. Jared Harris, who played Moriarty in the sequel, re-dubbed the character’s lines in this film for some TV broadcasts and home-media releases. Followed by Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011).

Golden Globe: Best Actor (Downey, Jr.).

Last word: “I think [Downey, Jr.] and I both knew if an idea could be trumped, if he could trump it, I could trump it or anyone else could trump it. If we could trump what was on the page, then great. So inevitably we’d and invariably we’d try to trump what was already there, so I don’t care where the idea comes from. And I’m certainly up for ideas as long as we’ve got enough time to indulge ourselves. So, you know, Rob has ideas and he’s a pretty smart chap, which is one of the reasons we went for him as Sherlock Holmes in the first place.” (Ritchie, Collider)