Guy Ritchie Reached His Peak With Sherlock Holmes - Has It Lasted?

Guy Ritchie built his reputation on British crime films, bursting onto the indie scene with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and refining his approach with Snatch. Those early pictures showcased hyperkinetic pacing, fast dialogue, nonlinear storytelling and a morbid sense of humor.

A misstep with Swept Away and diminishing returns on Revolver and RocknRolla pushed him to rethink his career. He shifted toward well-funded studio fare and found his greatest commercial success with Sherlock Holmes in 2009, pairing Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

That film grossed $524 million worldwide and its sequel, Game of Shadows, earned $544 million, turning Sherlock into a billion-dollar franchise. Since then Ritchie has oscillated between family-friendly studio pictures and smaller crime projects. His post-Sherlock films include The Man From U.N.C.L.E., King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Aladdin, The Gentleman, Wrath of Man, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Covenant and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

United Kingdom

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