From mild fan anxiety to a very pleasant surprise

Rating: 9/10 (21 February 2018)

I like Sherlock Holmes.
I like the books.
I like the old Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce movies.
I was not particularly keen on Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law or the gor-blimey direction of Guy Ritchie.
So it was with trepidation that I approached this new movie version of the Baker St sleuth. Ready to find fault I found myself warmly engaged from the start.
The good chemistry between Downey and Law is a joy throughout. There is something tragi-comically Withnail and I about them so, if Withnail floats your boat, this may be the Holmes for you.
The use of CGI is not overbearing and creates a very credible Holmesian London.
The supporting actors are, without exception, excellent; special credit to Mark Strong, Rachel McAdams, Eddie Marsan, Geraldine James and Kelly Reilly.
It has now become one of the films I can watch over and over; as comforting as the crackle from the hearth on a winter day.
If you, like me, are a fan of Sherlock Holmes and you have not yet watched this film then I hope it will prove as much of a pleasant surprise to you as it did to me.
Highly recommended. Well done, Mr Richie.