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Director Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) takes on the iconic character in his new film “Sherlock Holmes” starring Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man 2) as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson. How does this updated take stand up?

The Good: “Sherlock Holmes” is a hoot. Guy Ritchie always delivers an entertaining film and this is no exception. Downey Jr. once again steals the screen with his hugely entertaining and energetic performance. I know this will probably draw some criticism, but I think he deserves every bit of his Golden Globe nomination for Best Acter in a Musical or Comedy. Once again, there is a perfect blend of humor, cleverness and heart in Downey Jr.’s performance to remind audiences again why he is such a great actor.

Law also portrays possibly my favorite version of Dr. Watson to hit the screen. Law gives one of his better performances and Dr. Watson is able to stand up on his own and not be completely overshadowed by Holmes.

While many people were worried about turning Holmes into an action hero, fear not. There is a perfect mix of action and the Holmes of old. True, we get to see Holmes and Watson take out numerous bad guys in extremely entertaining fashion, but that doesn’t meen Ritchie ditched Holmes’ roots. He’s still the same old genius crime solver people love. Also, the plot is very unpredictable. I’d wager that most people will not be able to guess the ending and will be kept engaged in the film because of that fact.

The Bad:

Rachel McAdams. Now, I love Rachel McAdams, and it’s not that she didn’t give a bad performance, her acting was quite entertaining actually, it’s just that her character was completely unneccessary. Take her character out and the film loses almost nothing. I understand the necessity to have a female lead, but I wish she would have had a more important role.

And, the plot might turn some people off. While it’s true that almost everyone won’t be able to guess the ending, that’s only because the plot is sometimes too convoluted. Things aren’t presented clear enough so that audiences are left wondering if the plot has any conprehensible direction to it. Still, Ritchie ties it up nicely in the end, but sometimes its the path to the result that counts.

The Final Word: While far from perfect, “Sherlock Holmes” is wildly entertaining and is well worth seeing. Thanks in large part to Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, “Sherlock Holmes” provides a good starting point for a potential franchise.

Lukas Eggen