Guy Richie took some liberties in wooing young audiences to see his version of Sherlock Holmes. The historical—but let us not forget fictional—19th century character invented by the writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is quite meticulous with his personal hygiene and does not seem to have any constitutional interest in the opposite sex. Richie’s Sherlock only puts drops of water on his body when it is absolutely necessary. One could mistake his Sherlock for a homeless street bum. Richie’s Sherlock could also pass for a Don Giovanni who is merely between affairs rather than an incurable bachelor. Richie cast Sherlock Holmes in the genre an action movie, putting it closer in the tradition of James Bond or Jason Bourne films.  Yet in one way Richie stayed faithful to the character in the Conan Doyle books. Sherlock Holmes is one hell of a detective. His powers of reasoning are peerless.

Where we only see dirty shoes, Sherlock sees beyond the immediate scene and asks where and how the shoes obtained the dirt. The composition of the dirt gives him a clue to incriminate a person in the crime. Sherlock is not only a world-class deductive logician.  He has also gained so much knowledge about the real world by observation that every police force around the world would love to have him on staff.  Adding the evidence from the dirty shoes to all the other clues he finds on the scene, he constructs synethic view of crime scene leaves the criminals no chance. Alas, if only real world detectives were that good!