Sherlock Holmes - Downey & Cumberbatch

For years different adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles, "Sherlock Holmes" have been twisted and created into some truly stunning films and television series's. Robert Downey Jr and Benedict Cumberbatch are both perfect examples of how the character of Sherlock Holmes have been molded to effect the way we feel about them in entirely different ways.

Robert Downey Jr's version of Sherlock Holmes follows the characters more eccentric side of his personality. This is backed up by various instances of him drinking fluids that would otherwise be dangerous or unheard of for a human to drink ie: Eye drops and embalming fluid. His version of portraying Holmes is also more inventive than the Holmes that Benedict Cumberbatch portrays as in the second film, A Game of Shadows, he creates his own "Urban camouflage" in which he can blend easily into bookshelves and chairs.

Benedict Cumberbatch however, portrays Holmes in an entirely different way and makes the audience believe him to be more of an arrogant, robotic and heartless genius with no real care for the members of the public, only solving the case. This is backed up repeatedly throughout both series of the show when he says things such as "you're grandad hasn't gone to heaven, theirs no such thing, he was taken to a special room and burned" along with stealing an ash tray from Buckingham palace.

The reasons why these two version of Sherlock Holmes are portrayed so differently I feel has to do with not only the director behind the film/series, but also the time in which it is set. Downey's version of Sherlock is set between 1880 and 1914, making the types of crimes alot different to that of Cumberbatches Sherlock which is set in present day London.

In some ways both portrayals are similar to one another, both bordering on the insane and eratic which can cause problems and emotional strain with other characters such as John Watson but both also have a genius comedy about them in which the audience cannot help but adore both adaptations to an extent where they are emotionally tied to the characters and thus feel loss or stress when one appears to die ie: Reichenbach Fall when both Sherlock and Moriarty fall to their doom (Robert Downey Jr) or when Sherlock commits suicide to save his friends after Moriarty takes his own life (Benedict Cumberbatch).

In both instances Its safe to say that all portrayals of Sherlock Holmes have had a strong fan base in the past and the legacy of Doyle's work is still as strong now as it was when the book was first published.