Bringing Sherlock Holmes squarely into 2010 sounds too gimmicky to work, but the fact that it does may be only part of the reason Sherlock is such a surprise. The 19th century iconography the Holmes concept is mired in only exists because that’s when Arthur Conan Doyle wrote all those stories. As far as he was concerned, he was telling tales set in the present. It takes someone who really gets what this Holmes thing is all about to pull off a feat such as this update, and co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (both of Doctor Who fame) appear to relish the task. These guys are clearly drunk on Holmes. Nothing they’ve done taints the legacy; they’ve only added to it, and perhaps even whipped it into shape for audiences who might think the works of Conan Doyle are for stuffy old literature enthusiasts. If there’s one thing these three movies are not, it’s stuffy.Here Sherlock Holmes is played by Benedict Cumberbatch, who has an impossibly deep voice for the wiry, young man that he is. He does an exceptional job in the role of mad genius, and draws you in from his very first scene. Dr. John Watson, a military doctor back from Afghanistan, is brought to life by the wonderful Martin Freeman, who many people know at this point as the actor destined to breathe life into Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit. Freeman also owns his role, and together the two make a perfect team, as they stumble into one another’s lives and take up residence at 221b Baker Street. Freeman may have scored the role of his career with Peter Jackson, but it’s only a matter of time until Cumberbatch gets top billing at the cinemas. It doesn’t take a sleuth to see that this guy’s destined for greatness.
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