I like Robert Downey Junior a lot, I think he is a truly great actor who is invariably under utilised but he is not the quintessential British gentleman that Holmes most definitely was. Downey Junior was no good in this role and should never have been picked. I also really like Jude Law- but as Watson??? I think Rachel Macadam's is gorgeous and actually was quite well suited to the part. I think that Guy Ritchie is a really good director and admire his work but only in a particular genre, namely movies about London Cons, in this he excels. Basically Sherlock Holmes should have been good but it was actually mediocre drivel that would have had Sir Arthur Conan Doyle spinning in his grave. Anyone who had ever watched Edward Hardwick and Jeremy Brett as Watson and Holmes need look no further. They were brilliant and totally but exquisitely typecast. Brett was Holmes to the end of his life. The settings were well researched and authentic, the costumes amazing. The acting and direction amazing and above all it was very intelligent and rewarding in the extreme. All of the cast and Guy Ritchie would have done well to have read 'Sherlock Holmes' and to have watched the Brett/Hardwick version because then they would have had some idea of what would have been expected. Ridley Scott should have directed this movie. Charles Dance should have been Holmes and Ralph Fiennes, Watson or maybe Jeremy Northam. Why wasn't I consulted? I just hope there isn't a sequel because it will be even worse