They can be deceptive things, trailers. The ‘laugh-packed‘ comedy where it turns out all the jokes were in the promo, the action film that ends up containing next to no action - if we‘ve been suckered once, we‘ve been suckered a hundred times. Sometimes, however, a preview doesn‘t so much spoil as create a surprise. Watch the trailer for Guy Ritchie‘s Sherlock Holmes, and you‘d be forgiven for expecting a spoofy affair, heavy on knowing comedy and LXG-style CGI. That it‘s delightful to discover this isn‘t the case is a surprise second only to the emergence of the erstwhile Mr Madonna as a dab hand at action and epic spectacle.

　　Adapted from an as-yet-unpublished graphic novel but scripted with real flair and affection for the Conan Doyle cannon, Ritchie‘s film isn‘t Holmes-lite. Yes, it‘s frequently funny and the fist-fights take some liberties with Sherlock‘s affection for the eclectic martial art of bartitsu (first referenced in 1901‘s ‘The Adventure Of The Empty House‘). But while Sir Arthur might have taken exception to, say, Young Sherlock Holmes and Without A Clue, you‘d like to think he‘d have approved of this full-bodied affair.

　　As played by the peerless Robert Downey Jr, Holmes is a sort-of 19th century Jimmy McNulty - a spectacular mess as a man but an utterly brilliant detective. Jude Law‘s Watson, on the other hand, is straight without being dull and dependable without being self-righteous. That neither man rivals the respective brilliance of Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke isn‘t really the point. This is an attempt to tweak a familiar set-up without upsetting the apple cart. The success with which Ritchie accomplishes this difficult feat is personified by terrific turns from Eddie Marsan and Mark Strong as ‘onest copper Lestrade and nefarious blue-blood Lord Blackwood.