No doubt the characters will be reincarnated into a video game in which Holmes can spar with the giant wrestler, the fearsome Dredger (Robert Maillet), and the aptly named Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) for all of eternity. To give the film its due, it does periodically aspire to a pretense of intellectuality for a few short moments before the next slam bang action sequence commences. 

The considerable strengths of this movie are the exceptional casting of all of the lead characters and a general faith to the stories as they were written, not as they have been portrayed over the many years since the first novels came out as weekly serials in Strand Magazine. Much of what we purists take for Holmsian fact is rather fiction that has built up around the many actors who have portrayed this legendary character over the past 100 years. This includes many of the personality traits, dress, and mannerisms which have found their way into the Holmes canon because of the early stage and movie actors who have portrayed this detective. Surprisingly enough, it is the recent productions which have been more true to the Holmes character.

Yes, Holmes was an occasionally slovenly character who grated on the nerves of his long time friend, Dr. Watson (Jude Law). Also, Holmes, like his creator, had some experience in martial arts, although not to the extent portrayed here. Yes, there was a woman, Irene Adler in the story, "A Scandal in Bohemia," who Holmes doted on as his intellectual equal after she got the best of him. Yes, Dr. Watson carried on a long courtship with Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly), finally marrying her at some point during the many Holmes stories. And by now it is generally recognized that Holmes was a cocaine addict as portrayed in earlier films like "The Seven Percent Solution."

Robert Downey, Jr., makes an interesting Holmes, if a bit on the short side. He would have been more interesting had this story been more cerebral, but this is not his fault. Jude Law plays his sidekick Watson with an edge that I find very refreshing. Rachel McAdams has a slight role as Irene Adler, a brilliant thief who shares some kind of an unrequited relationship with Holmes. Finally, Mark Strong is superbly cast as the villain, Lord Blackwood, and Eddie Marsan is equally well cast as the Inspector Lestrade. Happily, there is not a boob in the bunch. This film is played for action, not for humor.

I have been a long time fan of Sherlock Holmes, most famous for the almost ubiquitous "The Hound of the Baskervilles." That story has been made into a movie countless times, as has many of the other detective stories penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The first Sherlock Holmes movie was made in 1900, and, as we can see, the legend continues with this newest version more than a century later.

To date Jeremy Brett has portrayed the Holmes that most appeals to us purists in the many BBC productions that came out during the Eighties and early Nineties. Those Holmes versions were invariably a delight although it must be mentioned that the outstanding 2002 BBC production of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" starring Richard Roxburgh (sadly the only Holmes outing for this wonderful actor) is a chilling and outstanding adaptation of this story. Go rent it if you haven't yet seen this version.

All of this is most entertaining, but I do prefer my Holmes to be of a more cerebral bent. At least I was never offended or, worse yet, bored, and for that I am grateful. That being said, this is one of those movies that I will have little interest in ever seeing again. (B+, Recommended.)