Apple TV's editorial team has named Guy Ritchie's 2009 film "Sherlock Holmes," starring Robert Downey Jr. as the titular detective, the best big-screen adaptation of the character. The article credits Ritchie's stylistic reinvention of Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth, moving him away from the traditional pipe-smoking, deerstalker-hat image towards a scruffy, physically imposing and bohemian figure, as key to the film's enduring appeal. It argues the pairing of Downey Jr.'s hyperactive charisma with Jude Law's empathetic Watson gave the film its standout quality, with the pair's bickering, near-married chemistry singled out as a highlight.

Despite some flaws, the film was a major commercial success, grossing $524 million worldwide, and holds a 69% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It received two Academy Award nominations and won Downey Jr. a Golden Globe for his performance. The piece situates the film within Ritchie's broader body of stylish, kinetic work, including "King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword," "The Gentlemen" and "In the Grey," noting his tendency to give familiar stories a fresh, unconventional spin.