*** (out of 5) A film of the world’s greatest detective that isn’t Batman helmed by one-time wonder Guy Ritchie would always elicit trepidation, but ‘Holmes’ is good fun. Sure, there is gratuitous action (including an embarrassingly excessive and pointless round of bare knuckle boxing) that fails to hide the fat that bloats the simple story past 2hours, but two words save it: Robert Downey, Jr. OK, technically three words.

RDJ is perfectly cast, embracing Holmes’s eccentric, restless and roguish genius. More surprisingly, Jude Law is rather good as Watson, though making him a skilled fighter is taking things too far. Rachel McAdams, stunningly, is the one weak link in the film’s major cast.

The plot starts smart but finishes disappointingly simplistic, but the action and brisk humor keep things chugging along. The third act is muddled, almost a mess and a bore, and it could’ve been directed by just about anyone, but as disposable pop escapism, it is fun, frothy and frivolous.