Hat? Gone. Cape? Gone. Pipe? Much more modestly sized. Abs? Rippling.

Welcome to the world of Sherlock Holmes as re-envisioned by Snatch director Guy Ritchie. This is a manlier Holmes than has been seen on screen before, one not shy to use his fists as well as his brains. And while purists will no doubt squawk at just how far removed from the staid, Masterpiece Theatre image of the detective Ritchie's version is the ironic truth is that -- given the pulp origins of the character and the fact that the bit most are squawking loudest about (that'd be the fighting) are actually specifically mentioned in the original source material -- this version is arguably as true to the lurid, populist spirit of the character as ever has been put on screen. Put aside the distinguished gentleman chomping on the stem of his pipe for a moment, please, and remember that the character as originally written in the late 1800s was a drug addict and habitual user of both cocaine and morphine. Polished and polite he was not.

But I digress.

We enter the story as Holmes and his trusty sidekick Watson -- also significantly more butch then we're used to in this version -- are leading a police raid on a Satanic ritual. A young woman is strapped to an altar, about to be sacrificed to the devil himself when our heroes swoop in to stop the ritual and capture the villain -- dramatically revealed to be Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), an influential nobleman. We learn that this is to be Holmes and Watson's last case together, that once Blackwood is hung Watson intends to be married and move into private offices -- an impending change that Holmes is not dealing with well. And so when Blackwood seemingly returns from the dead, Holmes seizes on the chance to rope his partner back in to active duty. Throw in a romantic interest, a secret society, underground pit boxing and a wickedly funny demonstration of what happens when the world's greatest deductive reasoner is also a fabulously skilled fighter -- hit here, then there, and strike there... yes, that'll work, off we go -- and you've got Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes.

Purely and unrepentantly a popcorn movie aimed straight at the masses, Sherlock Holmes fuses serial pulpiness with Ritchie's typical brash style and rapid fire dialog, gorgeous period design and producer Joel Silver's undeniable need to blow shit up. It's a recipe that could have spelled disaster -- and, honestly, one that does tend to bog down in the plottier moments, the plot being pretty ridiculous if you pause long enough to think about it -- but one that instead ends up being fabulously entertaining thanks to the brilliant casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson. Yes, Downey is basically doing Tony Stark here again and, yes, both characters are essentially riffs on the actor's own public image but when he does it this well I just don't care. And Law?  Law hasn't been this much fun since the criminally under rated I Heart Huckabees and this could very well be the role that puts him back on the list of actors that the public at large actually give a damn about, a position he hasn't held for nearly a decade. And that's just the two of them operating separately. Put them together and you've got absolute magic. The chemistry between Watson and Holmes is absolutely bang on, the relationship one hundred percent believable, the pair complementing each other perfectly while also nattering on each others' quirks like an old married couple. The action may be what gets your attention up front but it's Holmes' fear that he is about to lose his long time friend to marriage that really gives the film its anchor.

Casting in other areas is mixed. Mark Strong is very good as Lord Blackwood but is given surprisingly little to do. Veteran Brit character actor Eddie Marsan is stellar as Inspector Lastrade, his moments on screen crackling with an energy perfectly complementary to Downey and Law's. Rachel McAdams, however, may be a lovely and talented girl but she never really seems comfortable here, though whether because she just never slid into the period or wasn't able to find her place amidst all the Ritchie-fied testosterone I cannot say. Hans Matheson -- soon to be seen in Clash of the Titans -- is just eminently forgettable as Lord Coward, a major problem for a role this prominent.

Great movie? No... it's not, really. The plot is far more complex than it needs to be and significantly sillier than it should be and there are some definite hiccups with a couple key performances but, that said, the core actors are brilliant and the action set pieces great fun. I don't need to be Holmes to know that this will almost certainly be one of the big hits of the Christmas season, big enough that it should easily prove to be the most lucrative films of either Ritchie or Law's careers and probably rank second to Iron Man in Downey's. If you're looking for popcorn, this brand is pretty tasty.