Classics: Sherlock Holmes (2009, R: 4.5/5)

Two years back, Robert Downey Jr took cinema goers by storm with his daring version of Arthur Conan Doyle's cunning detective Sherlock Holmes, but does the original (set to get its first sequel later this year) still hold up now? In some ways, no- once a murder-mystery style film such as this has been watched twice or more, the effect of many of the twists does fast wear off (believe me, I've seen it five times now so know first-hand), and several of the locations do tend to repeat themselves (much of the film was shot in Chatham Dockyard). In other ways, however, it still amazes me how well Downey Jr masters his role as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson- the chemistry between the protagonists is dead-on as you'd imagine it for Victorian times. More intriguing still even now is the use of Professor Moriarty as a behind-the-scenes villain who we never see but still feel the wrath of throughout. That we see the intelligent Irene Adler scared of him makes me wonder even more what the antagonist did to make her fear him so, but no doubt Sherlock Holmes 2 will reveal this and so much more. Anyway, this 2009 favourite of mine still holds up to this day, and more than deserves a watch if you haven't before (or indeed even if you have)!