Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes Movie Becomes Streaming Hit on Apple TV

Guy Ritchie has never shown much interest in making polite British movies about polite British people.

The filmmaker built his career on stylish crime movies full of fast-talking gangsters, elaborate schemes, and sudden bursts of violence. That formula worked well with projects like The Gentlemen, his Netflix series about an aristocrat who inherits a family estate and discovers a sprawling marijuana empire.

Ritchie has leaned further into action in recent years. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare turned a group of British military operatives into a swaggering action crew, while In the Grey paired Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill for a globe-trotting heist that spirals into all-out war. That film missed critical acclaim, but it delivered plenty of the slick action Ritchie is known for.

Now, one of Ritchie’s older movies is getting another shot at the spotlight on streaming.

Released more than 15 years ago, Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes has climbed back into the conversation as audiences revisit the director’s take on the legendary detective. It ranks as the No. 4 streamed movie on Apple TV worldwide, according to FlixPatrol.

The film plays like a Guy Ritchie action movie wearing a Sherlock Holmes costume. The timing also aligns conveniently with recent releases. Ritchie’s Young Sherlock premiered on Prime Video earlier this year, giving the director another opportunity to put his own spin on the character. The series stars Hero Fiennes Tiffin as a young Holmes and has already secured a second-season renewal.

What is Sherlock Holmes about?

Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes follows the legendary detective, played by Robert Downey Jr., as he investigates a series of brutal murders in Victorian London alongside his longtime partner, Dr. John Watson, played by Jude Law. The case leads them to Lord Blackwood, played by Mark Strong, an occult-obsessed criminal who appears to return from the dead following his execution. Holmes refuses to accept the supernatural explanation.

The production offers a more physical take on Holmes than many previous adaptations. Robert Downey Jr. portrays the detective as a brilliant deductive thinker who is equally willing to throw a punch or improvise his way out of a fight. Jude Law treats Dr. John Watson as more than a mere sidekick, while Rachel McAdams appears as Irene Adler, serving as both Holmes’ former adversary and his romantic interest.

The 2009 movie currently holds a 77% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It proved to be a major box-office success as well, earning roughly $524 million worldwide against a reported $90 million budget.

That financial success led to Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows in 2011, which introduced Professor Moriarty as the nemesis of Holmes. The sequel is currently available on Apple TV in the United States, allowing viewers to continue a Ritchie-Holmes marathon.

Source: Polygon