The Guinness World Records lists Sherlock Holmes as the most frequently filmed character ever, with at least 70 actors playing the part in more than 200 films*. Only Holmes’s contemporary Count Dracula comes close to matching this record. Over a century has passed after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s enduring sleuth first appeared on celluloid, and it seems strangely appropriate that Guy Ritchie – as self-appointed chronicler of London’s criminal underbelly – should bring Holmes back to the big screen in this latest adaption.

Sticking faithfully to Doyle’s Victorian-era setting, the film opens with ‘consulting detective’ Sherlock Holmes (Downey Jr) and his stalwart companion Dr Watson (Law) apprehending satanic serial killer Lord Blackwood (Strong) as he’s about to dispatch his latest victim. But not even a good old fashioned hanging can put a stop to Blackwood’s nefarious plans, and the criminal mastermind appears to make good on his promise to come back from the dead, setting in motion a series of events that will allow him and his Freemason-esque cronies to take over Parliament and rule Britain and her empire with fear.

While Ritchie has taken a lot of inspiration from the original stories – Holmes displays considerable prowess in the martial arts, and Jude Law’s Watson is truer to the Afghan war veteran and gambler of Doyle’s creation, than the bumbling old fool of the Rathbone film series – his version of Sherlock Holmes feels very much like a ‘re-imagining’, and seems intended to kick off a new action/buddy comedy franchise. It’s up to the viewer to decide whether this melding of genres is ultimately successful. In some ways it’s a bit of a “curate’s egg”: the pacing is not quite right and Hans Zimmer’s score is overbearing at times. And for such a Londonophile as Guy Ritchie, there’s an almost unforgiveable liberty taken with the city’s geography towards the end of the film, when the script demands a final showdown atop a half-built Tower Bridge.

What is successful is the film’s period design, in which London and Manchester locations are neatly melded to some very effective CGI to create an incredibly authentic setting. It’s also a lot of fun, with some inspired casting breathing new life into the familiar characters. Particular mention goes to Eddie Marsan, who adds Inspector Lestrade to his ever-growing list of fantastic supporting turns.

One of these adaptations is Young Sherlock Holmes, in which the teenage Holmes is played by Nicholas Rowe, who later appeared as one of the marijuana growers in Ritchie’s feature debut Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.