I went to Sherlock Holmes with a mix of expectations. I figured that Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law would be "good," fun actors who made the movie worthwhile and entertaining. And I imagined that the Guy Ritchie modernization of one of my favorite teenage heroes would be worlds apart from what Arthur Conan Doyle created (in a bad way.) What I didn't expect was a movie full of action, adventure, humor, and mystery... all paced exactly the way that Doyle would have done it for The Strand.

The Downey-Ritchie combo has already created a stir, and supposedly the sequel is already in the works. (Speaking of sequels, the trailer for Iron Man 2 looks abundantly entertaining, with Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlet Johansson, Mickey Rourke, and the returning cast set to burst forth from an oversized special effects set). I've even seen that Brad Pitt is in talks to become a crucial Holmesian character of some repute. Speaking of crucial characters, Rachel McAdams does quite the job as a nemesis/love interest, Irene Adler. Which actually sets the stage for one of my biggest thoughts leaving the movie: This is a lot like Batman!

I'm not sure if Bob Kane had this in mind, but the Bruce Wayne-Batman-Catwoman-Selina Kyle thing plays out in the Holmes-Adler scenario (minus the costumes but plus the handcuffs). And the score, done by The Dark Knight's orchestrator, has some of the same elements. Then, there are the gothic elements, the darkness and light throughout every set, so that even the brightest spot has an air of mystery, and the way that London (like Gotham) is portrayed with a certain amount of corruption and decay. But don't forget that while Batman uses his brawn, he regularly solves the riddle with his brain, much like Holmes.

I'd also be amiss if I didn't say that the work of Mark Strong in the film (as the villain) doesn't diminish Downey in the way that Heath Ledger diminished Christian Bale in The Dark Knight, but he was certainly a... strong addition. His dark lord plays out something like a criminal from Harry Potter with a hint ofvampire and a blend of occult-driven scientist. I was quite impressed, but I digress. So back to work... with spoilers.

I loved the movie because Ritchie & Co. left the mystery intact. While Strong's Lord Blackwood breeds fear through "religion," the film itself is about science and deduction. Holmes is left to have faith in his friend Watson (who is productively peeved with him) and in his belief that there is good in the world. He does sit as judge and juror on what makes a person "right" or "wrong," siding with Adler and not with Blackwood. But Holmes is the kind of man who takes this particular case because evil is afoot (not for funds or glory) and pursues evil until he drives it out into the night.

Downey's Holmes is pensive, impulsive, and sometimes filled with a death-wish, but he's the kind of man who recognizes his vices (drink, drugs) and perseveres in a dogged desire to move forward and expand his mind. His perception of "progress" and "technology" notes the construction of the suspension bridge and the various means of disseminating poison that Blackwood constructs. Holmes is in fact a man ahead of his time.

But like the author of Ecclesiastes said, there is a time for everything, and nothing new under the sun, right? Holmes knows evil will always be lurking and he will always be ready, bloodied or not, to stand against it. Regardless of time period or interpretation, that's my kind of hero.